Joshua 10
The full text of Joshua 10 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.
2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.
3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon.
4 "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."
5 Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.
8 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.
10 The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
"Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
16 Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah,
18 he said, "Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it.
19 But don't stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."
20 So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely, but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities.
21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
22 Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me."
23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon.
24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
25 Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."
26 Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.
27 At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.
30 The LORD also gave that city and its king into Israel's hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it.
32 The LORD gave Lachish into Israel's hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.
33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.
34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it.
35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it.
37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir.
39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.
40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon.
42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Translation notes (15)
- Joshua 10:11a The hailstones 'from the heavens' present the victory as the Lord's own act of war, recalling the hail of the Egyptian plague (Exodus 9:22-26). The narrative repeatedly stresses that Israel did not win by its own strength.
- Joshua 10:12a Verses 12b-13a are poetry, quoted from the Book of Jashar (verse 13). The lines are arranged in a specific way to show their parallel structure. Interpreters differ widely on what the text describes—an extended day, a darkening, an omen, or a poetic celebration of the Lord's victory; this translation renders the poetry as it stands and does not resolve the question.
- Joshua 10:13a 'The Book of Jashar' (meaning 'the Book of the Upright') was an early collection of Israelite poetry, now lost; it is also cited in 2 Samuel 1:18. The poetic portion (through 'avenged itself on its enemies') is arranged in a specific way to show its poetic structure; the closing prose comment interprets the poem. The nature of the event remains disputed and is not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:14a The narrator's summary—'the Lord was fighting for Israel'—is the theological point of the whole episode: the victory belongs to God, not to Joshua or the army.
- Joshua 10:24a Placing the foot on a defeated enemy's neck was a recognized ancient Near Eastern gesture of total victory. Here it functions as a symbolic action assuring Israel that the Lord subdues all their enemies (compare verse 25 and Psalm 110:1).
- Joshua 10:26a The execution and public exposure of the five captured kings is translated as the original text presents it. The treatment of prisoners of war here is among the contested ethical and theological aspects of the conquest narratives and is not judged or explained by this translation. The bodies are removed by evening in keeping with Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (see verse 27).
- Joshua 10:28a This verse begins a summary of the southern campaign (verses 28-39), repeating the *herem* formula, which refers to total destruction, city by city. The total killing of populations described here is among the gravest moral and theological difficulties in the book. This translation renders the Hebrew text as it stands and does not soften, defend, explain away, or condemn it; the questions are left open and are not judged or explained here.
- Joshua 10:30a The *herem* 'no survivors' formula, which refers to total destruction, continues city by city through verse 39. See the note at verse 28; the moral and theological questions are not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:32a The *herem* formula, which refers to total destruction, continues. See the note at verse 28; the moral and theological questions are not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:33a The 'no survivors' (the Hebrew *en sarid*) formula continues. See the note at verse 28; the moral and theological questions are not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:35a The *herem* formula, which refers to total destruction, continues. See the note at verse 28; the moral and theological questions are not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:37a The *herem* 'no survivors' formula, which refers to total destruction, continues. See the note at verse 28; the moral and theological questions are not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:39a The *herem* 'no survivors' formula, which refers to total destruction, concludes the city-list here. See the note at verse 28; the moral and theological questions are not judged or explained by this translation.
- Joshua 10:40a The Hebrew phrase "kol haneshamah," meaning "all who breathed," describes the "herem," which was the total killing of every breathing person across the southern region, attributed to the LORD's command. This is among the gravest moral and theological difficulties in Scripture. This translation renders the Hebrew exactly as it stands, without softening, defending, explaining away, or condemning it; the ethical and theological questions are explicitly left open and are not resolved here.
- Joshua 10:42a "The LORD... fought for Israel" is the narrator's repeated theological statement (compare verse 14), emphasizing that the campaign's success is attributed to God, not to Israel's own strength. This statement frames, but does not resolve, the moral and theological questions raised by the conquest accounts.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Joshua, are free to read on this site.
Continue: Joshua 11 → · All of Joshua · About the TBV · Read Joshua 10 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus