Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 Y’hoshua got up early in the morning, and they left Sheetim and came to the Yarden, he with all the people of Isra’el; they camped there before crossing.

2 After three days, the officials circulated through the camp

3 and gave the people these orders: “When you see the ark for the covenant ofAdonaiyour God and thecohanim, who areL’vi’im, carrying it, you are to leave your position and follow it.

4 But keep a distance between yourelves and it of about a thousand yards — don’t come any closer, so that you will understand which way to go, because you haven’t gone this way before.”

5 Y’hoshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because tomorrowAdonaiis going to work wonders among you.”

6 Then Y’hoshua said to thecohanim, “Take the ark for the covenant, and go on ahead of the people.” They took the ark for the covenant and went ahead of the people.

7 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Starting today, I will make you great in full view of all Isra’el; so that they will know that just as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you.

8 Now you are to order thecohanimcarrying the ark for the covenant as follows: ‘When you come to the edge of the Yarden River, you are to stop in the Yarden itself.’”

9 Y’hoshua said to the people of Isra’el, “Come here, and listen to the words ofAdonaiyour God.”

10 Then Y’hoshua said, “Here is how you will know that the living God is here with you and that, without fail, he will drive out from before you the Kena‘ani, the Hitti, the Hivi, the P’rizi, the Girgashi, the Emori and the Y’vusi:

11 the ark for the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going on ahead of you across the Yarden.

12 Now choose yourselves twelve men out of the tribes of Isra’el, one man for each tribe.

13 As soon as thecohanimcarrying the ark ofAdonai, the Lord of all the earth, put the soles of their feet in the water of the Yarden, the water of the Yarden will be cut off upstream and stand piled up like an embankment.”

14 So the people left their tents to cross the Yarden, with thecohanimcarrying the ark for the covenant ahead of the people.

15 When those carrying the ark had come to the Yarden, and thecohanimcarrying the ark had waded into the water (for throughout harvest season the Yarden overflows its banks),

16 the water upstream stood piled up like an embankment for a great distance at Adam, the city next to Tzartan; so that the water flowing downstream toward the Sea of the ‘Aravah, the Dead Sea, was completely cut off; and the people crossed over right by Yericho.

17 Thecohanimcarrying the ark for the covenant ofAdonaistood fast on dry ground in the middle of the Yarden, while all Isra’el crossed on dry ground, until the entire nation had finished crossing the Yarden.

1 After the whole nation had finished crossing the Yarden,Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua,

2 “Take for yourselves from the people twelve men, a man from every tribe;

3 and give them this order: ‘Take twelve stones from the middle of the Yarden riverbed, where thecohanimare standing, carry them over with you and set them down in the place where you will camp tonight.’”

4 Y’hoshua called the twelve men whom he had chosen from the people of Isra’el, a man from every tribe,

5 and said to them, “Go on ahead of the ark ofAdonaiyour God into the riverbed of the Yarden. Then, each of you take a stone on his shoulder, corresponding to the number of tribes of the people of Isra’el.

6 This will be a sign for you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do you mean by these stones?’

7 you will answer them, ‘It’s because the water in the Yarden was cut off before the ark for the covenant ofAdonai; when it crossed the Yarden, the water in the Yarden was cut off; and these stones are to be a reminder for the people of Isra’el forever.’”

8 The people of Isra’el did just as Y’hoshua had ordered. They took twelve stones out of the Yarden riverbed, asAdonaihad said to Y’hoshua, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the people of Isra’el, carried them over with them to the place where they were camping, and set them down there.

9 Y’hoshua also set up twelve stones in the Yarden River itself, in the place where the feet of thecohanimcarrying the ark for the covenant had stood. They are there to this day.

10 Thecohanimcarrying the ark stood in the Yarden riverbed until Y’hoshua had finished saying to the people everything thatAdonaihad ordered him to say, in keeping with everything that Moshe had ordered Y’hoshua; then the people hurried across.

11 When all the people had finished crossing, the ark ofAdonaipassed on, and thecohanim, ahead of the people.

12 The descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh went on, armed, ahead of the people of Isra’el, as Moshe had said to them;

13 some 40,000 armed soldiers ready for battle crossed in the presence ofAdonaito the plains of Yericho.

14 That dayAdonaimade Y’hoshua great in full view of all Isra’el. They were in awe of him, just as they had been in awe of Moshe all his life.

15 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua,

16 “Order thecohanimcarrying the ark for the testimony to come up out of the Yarden.”

17 So Y’hoshua ordered thecohanim, “Come up out of the Yarden!”

18 Thecohanimcarrying the ark for the covenant ofAdonaicame up from the Yarden riverbed, and as soon as the soles of the feet of thecohanimtouched dry ground, the water of the Yarden returned to its place and the river overflowed its banks as it had before.

19 The people came up out of the Yarden on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, by the eastern boundary of Yericho.

20 Those twelve stones which they took out of the Yarden, Y’hoshua piled up at Gilgal.

21 Then he said to the people of Isra’el, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers what these stones mean,

22 you are to explain it to them by saying, ‘Isra’el came over this Yarden on dry land.

23 ForAdonaiyour God dried up the water in the Yarden from in front of you, until you had crossed, just asAdonaiyour God did to the Sea of Suf, which he dried up from in front of us, until we had crossed.

24 From this all the peoples of the earth can know that the hand ofAdonaiis strong, and you can fearAdonaiyour God forever.’”

1 When all the kings of the Emori on the west side of the Yarden and all the kings of the Kena‘ani near the sea heard howAdonaihad dried up the Yarden River ahead of the people of Isra’el until they had crossed it, their hearts failed them, and they fell into depression because of the people of Isra’el.

2 It was at that time thatAdonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Make yourself knives of flint, and circumcise the people of Isra’el again, a second time.

3 So Y’hoshua made himself knives of flint and circumcised the people of Isra’el at Giv‘at-Ha‘Aralot [the hill of foreskins].

4 The reason Y’hoshua circumcised was that all the people who had left Egypt who were males, all the fighting men, had died in the desert along the way after leaving Egypt.

5 For although all the people who left Egypt had been circumcised, all those who had been born in the desert on the way as they went on from Egypt had not been circumcised;

6 because the people of Isra’el walked forty years in the desert until the whole nation, that is, the fighting men who had left Egypt, had died out; because they had not heeded whatAdonaisaid.Adonaihad sworn that he would not allow them to see the land whichAdonaiswore to their ancestors that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

7 So he raised up their children to take their place, and it was these whom Y’hoshua circumcised; till then they had been uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised while traveling.

8 When all the nation had been circumcised, every one of them, they stayed where they were in camp until they had healed.

9 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Today I have rolled off from you the stigma of Egypt.” This is why the place has been called Gilgal [rolling] ever since.

10 The people of Isra’el camped at Gilgal, and they observedPesachon the fourteenth day of the month, there on the plains of Yericho.

11 The day afterPesachthey ate what the land produced,matzahand roasted ears of grain that day.

12 The following day, after they had eaten food produced in the land, themanended. From then on the people of Isra’el no longer hadman; instead, that year, they ate the produce of the land of Kena‘an.

13 One day, when Y’hoshua was there by Yericho, he raised his eyes and looked; and in front of him stood a man with his drawn sword in his hand. Y’hoshua went over to him and asked him, “Are you on our side or on the side of our enemies?”

14 “No,” he replied, “but I am the commander ofAdonai’s army; I have come just now.” Y’hoshua fell down with his face to the ground and worshipped him, then asked, “What does my lord have to say to his servant?”

15 The commander ofAdonai’s army answered Y’hoshua, “Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy.” And Y’hoshua did so.

1 Yericho had completely barricaded its gates against the people of Isra’el — no one left, and no one entered.

2 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “I have handed Yericho over to you, including its king and his warriors.

3 You are to encircle the city with all your soldiers and march around it once. Do this for six days.

4 Sevencohanimare to carry sevenshofars in front of the ark. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times, and thecohanimwill blow theshofars.

5 Then they are to blow a long blast on theshofar. On hearing the sound of theshofar, all the people are to shout as loudly as they can; and the wall of the city will fall down flat. Then the people are to go up into the city, each one straight from where he stands.”

6 Y’hoshua the son of Nun called thecohanimand told them, “Take up the ark for the covenant, and have sevencohanimcarry sevenshofars ahead of the ark ofAdonai.”

7 To the people he said, “Move on, encircle the city, and have the army march ahead of the ark ofAdonai.”

8 When Y’hoshua had spoken to the people, the sevencohanimcarrying the sevenshofars beforeAdonaipassed on and blew on theshofars, with the ark for the covenant ofAdonaifollowing them.

9 The fighting men went ahead of thecohanimblowing theshofars, while the rearguard marched after the ark, with incessant blowing on theshofars.

10 Y’hoshua gave this order to the people: “Don’t shout, don’t let your voice be heard, don’t let a single word out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout; then you will shout.”

11 So he had the ark ofAdonaimake a circle around the city, going around it once; then they returned to camp and stayed in the camp.

12 The next morning Y’hoshua got up early, and thecohanimtook up the ark ofAdonai.

13 The sevencohanimcarrying the sevenshofars ahead of the ark ofAdonaiwent on, continually blowing on theirshofars, with the fighting men marching ahead of them and the rearguard following after the ark ofAdonai; all the while the blowing on theshofars was incessant.

14 The second day, they went around the city once and returned to camp. They did the same for six days.

15 On the seventh day, they got up early, at sunrise, and went around the city in the same way seven times. That was the only day they encircled the city seven times.

16 The seventh time, when thecohanimblew on theirshofars, Y’hoshua said to the people, “Shout! becauseAdonaihas given you the city!

17 But the city and everything in it is to be set aside forAdonaiand therefore to be destroyed completely; only Rachav the prostitute is to be spared, she and everyone with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent.

18 So you, keep clear of everything reserved for destruction. If you bring a curse on yourselves by taking anything set aside to be destroyed, you will bring a curse on the whole camp of Isra’el and cause great distress there.

19 All the silver and gold, and all the brass and iron utensils are to be separated out forAdonaiand added to the treasury ofAdonai.”

20 So the people shouted, with theshofars blowing. When the people heard the sound of theshofars, the people let out a great shout; and the wall fell down flat; so that the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead of him; and they captured the city.

21 They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword — men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

22 Y’hoshua said to the two men who had reconnoitered the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out with all that she has, as you swore to her.”

23 The young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rachav with her father, mother, brothers and all she had; they brought out all her relatives and put them safely outside the camp of Isra’el.

24 Then they burned the city to ashes with everything in it, except for the silver, the gold and the brass and iron utensils, which they put in the treasury of the house ofAdonai.

25 But Y’hoshua spared Rachav the prostitute, her father’s household and everything she had; and she has continued living with Isra’el from then until now; because she hid the messengers Y’hoshua had sent to reconnoiter Yericho.

26 Y’hoshua then made the people take this oath: “A curse beforeAdonaion anyone who rises up and rebuilds this city of Yericho: he will lay its foundation with the loss of his firstborn son and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son.”

27 SoAdonaiwas with Y’hoshua, and people heard about him throughout the land.

1 But the people of Isra’el misappropriated some of the goods set aside to be destroyed; for ‘Akhan, the son of Karmi, the son of Zavdi, the son of Zerach, of the tribe of Y’hudah, took some of the things reserved for destruction. In consequence, the anger ofAdonaiblazed up against the people of Isra’el.

2 Y’hoshua sent men from Yericho to ‘Ai, which is next to Beit-Aven, east of Beit-El, telling them to go up and spy out the land. So the men went up, reconnoitered ‘Ai,

3 returned to Y’hoshua and told him, “Don’t have all the people go up; but let perhaps two or three thousand men go up and attack ‘Ai. There’s no point in making all the people exert themselves to get there, because there are only a few of them.”

4 So from the people about three thousand men went up there, but they were routed by the men of ‘Ai.

5 The men of ‘Ai killed some thirty-six of them and chased them from before their gate all the way to Sh’varim, attacking them on the descent. The hearts of the people melted and turned to water.

6 Y’hoshua tore his clothes and fell to his face on the ground before the ark ofAdonaiuntil evening, he and the leaders of Isra’el, and they put dust on their heads.

7 Y’hoshua said, “Oh,adonaiElohim! Why did you take the trouble to bring this people across the Yarden if you meant to hand us over to the Emori and have us perish? We should have been satisfied to live on the other side of the Yarden!

8 Oh,Adonai! What can I say, after Isra’el has turned their backs and retreated before their enemies?

9 For when the Kena‘ani and the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe us off the face of the earth. What will you do then to save the honor of your great name?”

10 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Stand up! Why are you lying there face down?

11 Isra’el has sinned. Yes, they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them. They have taken some of what was to have been set aside for destruction. They have stolen it, lied about it and put it with their own things.

12 This is why the people of Isra’el cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs on their enemies, because they have come under a curse. I won’t be with you any more unless you destroy the things meant for destruction that you have with you.

13 So get up, consecrate the people, and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for here is whatAdonaithe God of Isra’el says: “Isra’el, you have things under the curse of destruction among you; and you will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove the things that were to have been destroyed from among you.”

14 Therefore, tomorrow morning you are to come forward, one tribe at a time; the tribeAdonaitakes is to come forward, one family at a time; the familyAdonaitakes is to come forward, one household at a time; and the householdAdonaitakes is to come forward, one person at a time.

15 The person who is caught with things in his possession that were reserved for destruction is to be burned to ashes, he and everything he has, because he has violated the covenant ofAdonaiand has committed a shameful deed in Isra’el.’”

16 So Y’hoshua got up early in the morning and had Isra’el come forward, one tribe at a time; and the tribe of Y’hudah was taken.

17 He had the families of Y’hudah come forward and took the family of the Zarchi. He had the Zarchi family come forward by household leaders, and Zavdi was taken.

18 He had his household come forward, one person at a time; and ‘Akhan the son of Karmi, the son of Zavdi, the son of Zerach, of the tribe of Y’hudah, was taken.

19 Y’hoshua said to ‘Akhan, “My son, swear toAdonai, the God of Isra’el, that you will tell the truth and confess to him. Tell me, now, what did you do? Don’t hide anything from me.”

20 ‘Akhan answered Y’hoshua, “It is true: I have sinned againstAdonai, the God of Isra’el. Here is exactly what I did:

21 when I saw there with the spoil a beautiful robe from Shin‘ar, five pounds of silvershekels and a one-and-a-quarter-pound wedge of gold, I really wanted them. So I took them. You will find them hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 Y’hoshua sent messengers, who ran to the tent. It was all there, hidden in his tent, including the silver underneath.

23 They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Y’hoshua and all the people of Isra’el, and put them down beforeAdonai.

24 Y’hoshua, together with all Isra’el, took ‘Akhan, the son of Zerach, with the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything he had, and brought them up to the Akhor Valley.

25 Y’hoshua said, “Why have you brought trouble on us? TodayAdonaiwill bring trouble on you!” Then all Isra’el stoned him to death; they burned them to ashes and stoned them.

26 Over him they piled a great mound of stones, which is there to this day. FinallyAdonaiturned away from his fierce anger. And this is why that place is called the Valley of Akhor [trouble] to this day.

1 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Don’t be afraid or fall into despair! Take all the people who can fight with you, set out, and go up to ‘Ai; because now I have handed over to you the king of ‘Ai, his people, his city and his land.

2 Do to ‘Ai and its king as you did to Yericho and its king; but this time, take its spoil and cattle as booty for yourselves. Ambush the city from behind.”

3 So Y’hoshua set out for ‘Ai with all the people who could fight. Y’hoshua chose 30,000 men, the most courageous of his troops, and sent them out by night.

4 He instructed them, “You are to lie in wait to ambush the city from behind. Stay close to the city; and all of you, be ready.

5 I and all the troops with me will approach the city; and when they come out to attack us, as they did before, we will run away from them.

6 They will chase after us until we have drawn them away from the city; because they will say, ‘They’re running away from us, as they did before’; so we’ll run away from them.

7 Then you will jump up from your ambush position and take possession of the city, forAdonaiyour God will hand it over to you.

8 When you have captured the city, you are to set it on fire; do according to whatAdonaihas said. Those are your orders.”

9 Y’hoshua sent them out; and they went to the place for the ambush, staying between Beit-El and ‘Ai, to the west of ‘Ai; while Y’hoshua camped that night with the people.

10 Y’hoshua got up early in the morning, mustered his men and went up to ‘Ai ahead of the people, he and the leaders of Isra’el .

11 All the troops marching with him went up, advanced, arrived in front of the city and camped on the north side of ‘Ai, with a valley between him and ‘Ai.

12 Then he took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Beit-El and ‘Ai, to the west of ‘Ai.

13 Thus the people arrayed themselves, with all the army to the north of the city, and their rearguard lying in wait to the west of the city. Y’hoshua spent that night in the valley.

14 The king of ‘Ai saw this, so the men in the city hurried out early in the morning to battle against Isra’el, he and all his people, at a meeting-place facing the ‘Aravah. But he was unaware that behind the city an ambush had been laid against him.

15 Y’hoshua and all Isra’el made as if they had been defeated before them and ran off on the road to the desert.

16 All the people in ‘Ai were summoned together to pursue them, so they chased Y’hoshua and were drawn away from the city.

17 Not a man was left in ‘Ai or Beit-El who had not gone after Isra’el; pursuing Isra’el, they left the city wide open.

18 ThenAdonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Point the spear in your hand toward ‘Ai, because I will hand it over to you.” Y’hoshua pointed the spear in his hand toward the city.

19 The men in ambush jumped up quickly from their place; the moment he stretched out his hand, they ran, entered the city and captured it; and they hurried to set the city on fire.

20 When the men of ‘Ai looked behind them, they saw it — there was the smoke from the city, rising to the sky; and they had no power to flee this way or that — at which point the people who had run off toward the desert turned back on the pursuers.

21 When Y’hoshua and all Isra’el saw that the ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city was going up, they turned back and slaughtered the men of ‘Ai;

22 while the others came out of the city against them too; so that they were surrounded by Isra’el with some on this side and some on that side. They attacked them, allowing none to remain or escape.

23 But they took the king of ‘Ai alive and brought him to Y’hoshua.

24 When Isra’el had finished slaughtering all the inhabitants of ‘Ai in the countryside, in the desert where they had pursued them, and they had all fallen, consumed by the sword, then all Isra’el returned to ‘Ai and defeated it with the sword.

25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day, everyone in ‘Ai.

26 For Y’hoshua did not withdraw his hand, which he had used to point the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of ‘Ai.

27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city did Isra’el take as booty for themselves, in keeping with the orderAdonaihad given Y’hoshua.

28 So Y’hoshua burned down ‘Ai and turned it into atelforever, so that it remains a ruin to this day.

29 The king of ‘Ai he hanged on a tree until evening; at sundown Y’hoshua gave an order, so they took his carcass down from the tree, threw it at the entrance of the city gate and piled on it a big heap of stones, which is there to this day.

30 Then Y’hoshua built an altar toAdonai, the God of Isra’el, on Mount ‘Eival,

31 as Moshe the servant ofAdonaihad ordered the people of Isra’el to do (this is written in the book of theTorahof Moshe), an altar of uncut stones that no one had touched with an iron tool. On it they offered burnt offerings toAdonaiand sacrificed peace offerings.

32 He wrote there on the stones a copy of theTorahof Moshe, inscribing it in the presence of the people of Isra’el.

33 Then all Isra’el, including their leaders, officials and judges, stood on either side of the ark in front of thecohanim, who wereL’vi’imand who carried the ark for the covenant ofAdonai. The foreigners were there along with the citizens. Half of the people were in front of Mount G’rizim and half of them in front of Mount ‘Eival, as Moshe the servant ofAdonaihad ordered them earlier in connection with blessing the people of Isra’el.

34 After this, he read all the words of theTorah, the blessing and the curse, according to everything written in the book of theTorah.

35 There was not a word of everything Moshe had ordered that Y’hoshua did not read before all Isra’el assembled, including the women, the little ones and the foreigners living with them.

1 When all the kings on the west side of the Yarden in the hills, in the Sh’felah and all along the shore of the Great Sea that fronts the L’vanon — the Hitti, Emori, Kena‘ani, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi — heard what had happened,

2 they joined forces to fight together against Y’hoshua and Isra’el.

3 But when the inhabitants of Giv‘ah heard what Y’hoshua had done to Yericho and ‘Ai,

4 they developed a clever deception: they made themselves look as if they had been on a long journey by putting old sacks on their donkeys and taking used wineskins that had burst and been mended back together.

5 They put old, patched sandals on their feet and dressed in worn-out clothes; and took as provisions nothing but dried-up bread that was crumbling to pieces.

6 Then they went to Y’hoshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Isra’el, “We have come from a country far away. Now, make a covenant with us.”

7 The men of Isra’el said to the Hivi, “How do we know that you don’t live here among us? If you do, we don’t want to make a covenant with you.”

8 But they answered Y’hoshua, “We are your servants.” Y’hoshua asked, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

9 They answered him, “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the reputation ofAdonaiyour God. We have heard reports about him — everything he did in Egypt,

10 and everything he did to the two kings of the Emori across the Yarden, Sichon king of Heshbon and ‘Og king of Bashan at ‘Ashtarot.

11 So our leaders and all the people living in our country said to us, “Take provisions with you for the journey, go to meet them, and say to them, ‘We are your servants, and now make a covenant with us.’

12 Here is the bread which we took for our provisions. It was still warm when we took it out of our homes the day we left to come to you. Now look at it! It’s dry and turned to crumbs!

13 And these wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, now they’re torn. Likewise these clothes of ours and our shoes are worn out because of the very long journey.”

14 The men sampled some of their food but didn’t seek the advice ofAdonai,

15 so Y’hoshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to spare their lives, and the leading officials of the community swore to them.

16 But three days later, after they had made the covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors, that they lived there with them.

17 The people of Isra’el traveled and arrived at their cities on the third day. Their cities were Giv‘on, K’firah, Be’erot and Kiryat-Ye‘arim.

18 The people of Isra’el did not attack them, because the leading officials of the community had sworn to them byAdonai, the God of Isra’el; but all the community grumbled against the leaders.

19 However, the leaders replied to the whole community, “We have sworn to them byAdonai, the God of Isra’el; so we can’t touch them.

20 Here is what we will do to them: we will let them live, so that God’s anger will not be on us because of the oath we swore to them.

21 Yes, let them live,” the leaders continued, “but let them chop wood and draw water for the whole community.” This is what the leaders said.

22 Y’hoshua summoned them and said this to them: “Why have you deceived us by saying, ‘We come from a place very far away,’ when in fact you are living right here with us?

23 Now you have a curse on you: you will be slaves forever, supplying people to chop wood and draw water for the house of my God.”

24 They answered Y’hoshua, “It is because we heard the reports thatAdonaiyour God had ordered his servant Moshe to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from ahead of you. So we were terrified for our lives on account of you; that’s why we did this.

25 Now, as you see, we are in your hands; do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”

26 So Y’hoshua did exactly that: he saved them from the power of the people of Isra’el, so that they didn’t kill them.

27 But he did that same day make them choppers of wood and drawers of water for the community and for the altar ofAdonaiin the place which he would choose; and they remain so to this day.

1 When Adoni-Tzedek king of Yerushalayim heard how Y’hoshua had taken ‘Ai and utterly destroyed it — he had done the same to ‘Ai and its king as he had done to Yericho and its king — and how the inhabitants of Giv‘on had made peace with Isra’el and were living among them,

2 his people became greatly alarmed; because Giv‘on was as large as one of the royal cities, larger than ‘Ai, and all its men were courageous.

3 So Adoni-Tzedek king of Yerushalayim sent this message to Hoham king of Hevron, Pir’am king of Yarmut, Yafia king of Lakhish and D’vir king of ‘Eglon:

4 “Come up and help me, and we’ll attack Giv‘on, because it has made peace with Y’hoshua and the people of Isra’el.”

5 So the five kings of the Emori — the kings of Yerushalayim, Hevron, Yarmut, Lakhish and ‘Eglon — got together, went up with all their armies, pitched camp against Giv‘on and made war against it.

6 The people of Giv‘on sent a message to Y’hoshua at their camp in Gilgal that said, “Don’t ignore your servants! Come up to us quickly, and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Emori living in the hills have gotten together to fight us.”

7 Y’hoshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting men with him, including all the bravest ones.

8 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of their men will stand against you.”

9 Having spent the entire night marching up from Gilgal, Y’hoshua fell upon them, taking them by surprise.

10 Adonaithrew them into confusion before Isra’el and defeated them in a great slaughter at Giv‘on, pursuing them along the road that goes up from Beit-Horon, and beating them back to ‘Azekah and all the way to Makkedah.

11 As they fled before Isra’el down the road to Beit-Horon,Adonaithrew huge hailstones down on them all the way to ‘Azekah, and they died; more died because of the hail than because Isra’el had killed them with the sword.

12 Then, on the dayAdonaihanded over the Emori to the people of Isra’el, Y’hoshua spoke toAdona i; in the sight of Isra’el he said,

“Sun, stand motionless over Giv‘on!

Moon, you too, over Ayalon Valley!”

13 So the sun stood still and the moon stayed put,

till Isra’el took vengeance on their enemies.

This is written in the book of Yashar. The sun stood still in the sky and was in no rush to set for nearly a whole day.

14 There has never been a day like that before or since, whenAdonailistened to the voice of a man; it happened becauseAdonaiwas fighting on Isra’el’s behalf.

15 Y’hoshua returned with all Isra’el to the camp at Gilgal.

16 But those five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah,

17 and it was reported to Y’hoshua that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.

18 Y’hoshua said, “Roll big stones to the mouth of the cave, and put men there to guard them.

19 However, you, don’t wait, but keep chasing your enemies, and attack those farthest in the rear. Don’t allow them to return to their cities, becauseAdonaihas handed them over to you.”

20 After Y’hoshua and the people of Isra’el had finished killing them off in a very great slaughter, till they had been destroyed, and the remaining remnant had entered the fortified cities,

21 all the people returned safely to Y’hoshua at the camp in Makkedah; and no one said a word against any of the people of Isra’el.

22 Then Y’hoshua said, “Open up the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me.

23 They did it; they brought the five kings out to him — the kings of Yerushalayim, Hevron, Yarmut, Lakhish and ‘Eglon.

24 After they had brought the five kings to Y’hoshua, he summoned all the men of Isra’el and said to the commanders of the soldiers who had gone with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came and put their feet on their necks.

25 Y’hoshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid or confused, but be strong and bold, because this is whatAdonaiwill do to all your enemies that you fight against.”

26 With that, Y’hoshua struck them and put them to death, hanging them on five trees, where they remained hanging until evening.

27 At sunset Y’hoshua gave an order, and they lowered them from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, then laid big stones at the mouth of the cave; and there they remain to this day.

28 Y’hoshua captured Makkedah that day, defeating it and its king by the sword. He completely destroyed them, everyone there — he left no one; and he did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Yericho.

29 Y’hoshua went on from Makkedah, and all Isra’el with him, to Livnah; and he fought against Livnah.

30 Adonaialso handed it and its king over to Isra’el. He defeated it with the sword, everyone there — he left no one, and he did to its king what he had done to the king of Yericho.

31 Y’hoshua went on from Livnah, and all Isra’el with him, to Lakhish; and he pitched camp against it and fought against it.

32 Adonaihanded it over to Isra’el; he captured it the second day. He defeated it with the sword, everyone there, exactly as he had done to Livnah.

33 But then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lakhish; so Y’hoshua attacked him and his people, until he had no one left with him.

34 Y’hoshua went on from Lakhish, and all Isra’el with him, to ‘Eglon; and he pitched camp against it and fought against it.

35 They captured it that very day. He defeated it with the sword, completely destroying everyone there, exactly as he had done to Lakhish.

36 Y’hoshua went up from ‘Eglon, and all Isra’el with him, to Hevron; and they fought against it.

37 They captured it, defeating it with the sword, including its king, its villages and everyone there; he left no one, exactly as he had done to ‘Eglon; but he completely destroyed it and everyone there.

38 Y’hoshua turned back, and all Isra’el with him, to D’vir and fought against it.

39 They captured it, its king and all its villages, defeating them with the sword and utterly destroying everyone there; he left no one. He did to D’vir and it king as he had done to Hevron and as he had done to Livnah and its king.

40 So Y’hoshua attacked all the land — the hills, the Negev, the Sh’felah and the mountain slopes — and all their kings; he left none but completely destroyed everything that breathed, asAdonaithe God of Isra’el had ordered.

41 Y’hoshua attacked them from Kadesh-Barnea to ‘Azah and all the land of Goshen, as far as Giv‘on.

42 Y’hoshua captured all these kings and their land all at the same time, becauseAdonaithe God of Isra’el fought on Isra’el’s behalf.

43 Then Y’hoshua returned, and all Isra’el with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

1 When Yavin king of Hatzor heard of it, he informed Yovav king of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Akhshaf;

2 the kings to the north, in the hills, in the ‘Aravah south of Kinn’rot, in the Sh’felah and in the regions of Dor on the west;

3 the Kena‘ani to east and west; the Emori, Hitti, P’rizi and Y’vusi in the hills; and the Hivi at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mitzpah.

4 So they set out, they and all their armies, many people, in number like the sand at the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

5 All these kings met together, then came and pitched camp together at the Merom Spring, to fight Isra’el.

6 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua, “Don’t be afraid on their account; because at this time tomorrow I will hand them over, all of them dead, before Isra’el. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”

7 So Y’hoshua came against them suddenly with all his fighting men and fell on them at the Merom Spring.

8 Adonaihanded them over to Isra’el — they attacked and chased them to Greater Tzidon, Misrefot-Mayim and eastward to the Mitzpeh Valley; they attacked them until none of them was left.

9 Y’hoshua did to them whatAdonaihad ordered — he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.

10 Then Y’hoshua turned back and captured Hatzor, striking its king dead with the sword; for in time past Hatzor had been the head of all those kingdoms.

11 They put everyone there to death with the sword, completely destroying them; there was nothing left that breathed; and he burned Hatzor to the ground.

12 Y’hoshua captured all the cities of those kings and the kings as well; he defeated them with the sword and completely destroyed them, as Moshe the servant ofAdonaihad ordered.

13 But as for the cities built on theirtels, Isra’el burned none of them except Hatzor; Y’hoshua did burn that one.

14 All the spoil of these cities and the livestock the people of Isra’el took as booty for themselves; but every human being they put to death with the sword, until they had destroyed them — they left no one breathing.

15 Moshe had given orders to Y’hoshua, just asAdonaihad given orders to Moshe his servant, and Y’hoshua acted accordingly — he did everythingAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

16 So Y’hoshua captured all that land, the hills, the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the Sh’felah, the ‘Aravah and the Isra’el hills and Sh’felah,

17 from the bare mountain that goes up to Se‘ir to Ba‘al-Gad in the L’vanon Valley under Mount Hermon; and he took all their kings, struck them and put them to death.

18 Y’hoshua made war with all those kings for a long time.

19 Not one city made peace with the people of Isra’el, except for the Hivi living in Giv‘on; they took everything in battle.

20 For it wasAdonaiwho caused them to harden their hearts and come against Isra’el in battle, so that they would be utterly destroyed, so that they would not find favor but be destroyed, in keeping with the ordersAdonaihad given Moshe.

21 Y’hoshua at that time came and cut off the ‘Anakim from the land — from Hevron, D’vir, ‘Anav and from all the hill-country of Y’hudah and Isra’el; Y’hoshua utterly destroyed them and their cities.

22 No ‘Anakim were left in the land of the people of Isra’el — only in ‘Azah, Gat and Ashdod did some remain.

23 Y’hoshua took the whole land, in keeping with all thatAdonaihad said to Moshe and to Isra’el according to their divisions into tribes. Then the land rested from war.

1 These are the kings of the land whom the people of Isra’el defeated and of whose land they took possession, across the Yarden toward the east, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon and all the ‘Aravah eastward:

2 Sichon king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon and ruled the territory that includes ‘Aro‘er, at the edge of the Arnon Valley; the middle of the valley; half of Gil‘ad, to the Yabok River, which forms the border with the people of ‘Amon;

3 the ‘Aravah to Lake Kinneret eastward and to the sea of the ‘Aravah, the Dead Sea, eastward by way of Beit-Yeshimot and on the south under the slopes of Pisgah.

4 There was also the territory of ‘Og king of Bashan, who belonged to the remnant of the Refa’im. He lived at ‘Ashtarot and at Edre‘i;

5 and he ruled Mount Hermon; Salkhah; all Bashan, to the border with the G’shuri and the Ma‘akhati; and half of Gil‘ad, to its border with Sichon king of Heshbon.

6 Moshe the servant ofAdonai, with the people of Isra’el, defeated them; and Moshe the servant ofAdonaigave it to the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M’nasheh as their possession.

7-8 Following are the kings of the land whom Y’hoshua, with the people of Isra’el, defeated in the area west of the Yarden, between Ba‘al-Gad in the L’vanon Valley and the bare mountain that goes up to Se‘ir. Y’hoshua gave this land, inhabited by the Hitti, Emori, Kena‘ani, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi, to the tribes of Isra’el to possess, according to their divisions, in the hills, the Sh’felah, the ‘Aravah, the mountain slopes, the desert and the Negev:

9 the king of Yericho,

the king of ‘Ai, by Beit-El,

10 the king of Yerushalayim,

the king of Hevron,

11 the king of Yarmut,

the king of Lakhish,

12 the king of ‘Eglon,

the king of Gezer,

13 the king of D’vir,

the king of Geder,

14 the king of Hormah,

the king of ‘Arad,

15 the king of Livnah,

the king of ‘Adulam,

16 the king of Makkedah,

the king of Beit-El,

17 the king of Tapuach,

the king of Hefer,

18 the king of Afek,

the king of Sharon,

19 the king of Madon,

the king of Hatzor,

20 the king of Shimron-M’ron,

the king of Akhshaf,

21 the king of Ta‘anakh,

the king of Megiddo,

22 the king of Kedesh,

the king of Yokne‘am in Karmel,

23 the king of Dor in the region of Dor,

the king of Goyim in the Gilgal, and

24 the king of Tirtzah —

making a total of thirty-one kings.