Page:JPS-1917-Universal.djvu/294

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9.23
JOSHUA

my God.' 24And they answered Joshua, and said: 'Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25And now, behold, we are in thy hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.' 26And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. 27And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, unto this day, in the place which He should choose.

10Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem 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: 4'Come up unto me, and help me, and let us 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 against Gibeon, and made war against it. 6And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying: 'Slack not thy hands 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 hill-country are gathered together against us.' 7So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.

8And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Fear them not; for I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand against thee.' 9Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly; for he went up from Gilgal all the night. 10And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon; and they chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. 11And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died; they were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

12Then spoke 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 Aijalon.'
13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,
Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the

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