- 1Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
- 2That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.
- 3Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,
- 4Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.
- 5Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
- 6 And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.
- 7So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.
- 8 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.
- 9Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.
- 10And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
- 11And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
- 12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
- 13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
- 14And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
- 15 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
- 16But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.
- 17And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.
- 18And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them:
- 19And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.
- 20And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities.
- 21And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.
- 22Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
- 23And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
- 24And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
- 25And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.
- 26And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
- 27And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
- 28 And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.
- 29Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
- 30And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.
- 31 And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it:
- 32And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.
- 33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.
- 34 And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:
- 35And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.
- 36And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it:
- 37And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
- 38 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it:
- 39And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.
- 40 So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.
- 41And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.
- 42And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.
- 43And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.
KING JAMES VERSION
JOSHUA 10
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Joshua 10 — The LORD defends Gibeon through Israel, hail, and the extraordinary long day as Joshua’s southern campaign advances.
About this illustration
Sun, moon, hail, and pursuit combine the chapter’s defining action. The defeated kings and city destructions are not depicted graphically.
Scripture basis: Joshua 10:1–43King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Approximately 1350–1330 BC
The Amarna Letters from Canaan and Jerusalem
Clay tablets from Egypt's fourteenth-century BC royal archive preserve the actual diplomatic voices of Canaanite rulers, including six appeals from Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem, documenting a literate city-state under Egyptian authority centuries before the Israelite monarchy.
Genesis 14:18 · Joshua 10:1–5 · Joshua 15:63
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Iron Age IIA, tenth century BC, with later rebuilding
Gezer’s Six-Chambered Gate and Administrative City
Gezer’s six-chambered gate, casemate defenses, and adjoining administrative complex mark a planned Iron Age IIA city whose radiocarbon-supported tenth-century development is compatible with 1 Kings 9, though architecture and date cannot identify Solomon as its builder.
1 Kings 9:15–17 · Joshua 10:33 · Joshua 16:10
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Nineteenth–eighteenth centuries BC
Egyptian Execration Texts Naming Jerusalem
Middle Kingdom Egyptian enemy lists preserve a toponym widely read as Jerusalem and associate two rulers with it, providing early evidence for a Canaanite highland polity while saying nothing about Abraham or Israelite rule.
Genesis 14:18–20 · Joshua 10:1–5 · Joshua 15:63
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
14th c BC
The Ophel Cuneiform Tablet
A tiny Late Bronze Age Akkadian letter fragment excavated in Jerusalem preserves direct evidence of local cuneiform scribal activity, while its broken text leaves sender, recipient, and historical occasion unknown.
Joshua 10:1–5
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Late Hellenistic or Hasmonean period
Gezer Boundary Inscriptions
Thirteen rock-cut Hebrew and Greek inscriptions around Tel Gezer preserve the ancient place-name and map a late Second Temple-period territorial boundary whose ownership and purpose remain debated.
Joshua 10:33 · Joshua 21:21 · 1 Kings 9:15–17
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Hasmonean period, about second century BC
4QJoshuaᵃ (4Q47): An Early Hebrew Witness to Joshua
Hasmonean parchment fragments from Cave 4 preserve Joshua's Gilgal, Jericho, Ai, and southern-campaign narratives, while an unusual placement of the altar-and-Torah episode makes 4Q47 important evidence for the book's developing textual forms.
Joshua 5:2–12 · Joshua 6:5–10 · Joshua 7:12–17
View all 12 archaeology resources
- Lachish Ivory Comb Inscription
- Tel Burna: Proposed Biblical Libnah
- Codex Sarravianus-Colbertinus: A Hexaplaric Greek Octateuch
- Tel Lachish B10969 Early Alphabetic Bowl Sherd
- Lachish 15 Late Bronze Age Inked Jar Inscription
- The Lachish Fosse Temple
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In “Skyfall 2024 - Biblical Cosmology by Matt Long,” Matt Long develops a Scripture-centered message moving through a hebrew cosmology reading, competing worldviews, the face of the earth and universal visibility, firmament and waters above. The sermon follows the speaker’s argument chronologically, grounding its principal appeals in biblical passages and practical ministry examples.
Scripture AloneChrist AloneChristian LivingSpiritual Warfare
View sermon Flat Earth or Round Earth -
Host Mike Zwick interviews Pastor Dean Odle about biblical cosmology and Odle’s conclusion that Scripture describes a stationary, enclosed earth rather than the modern heliocentric model. Odle recounts his gradual change of view, argues that Genesis 1 should control Christian cosmology, and says that accepting secular accounts of origins has weakened confidence in the Bible. The interview is presented as advocacy for Odle’s position, not as an independent scientific assessment.
Biblical CreationScripture AloneDoctrine and DiscernmentApostasy and Deception
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Music
Escaping the Matrix
A Watchman 33 release centered on stepping away from deception and returning to truth.