3. So King Adoni Zedek of Jerusalem sent ⌊this message⌋ to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon:
4. “Come, help me destroy Gibeon because it has made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.”
5. So the five Amorite kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon combined their armies. They marched to Gibeon, camped there, and attacked it.
6. The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Don’t abandon us! Come quickly, and save us. Help us because all the Amorite kings who live in the mountains have united against us.”
7. So Joshua, with all his soldiers and best warriors, set out from Gilgal.
8. The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. None of them can stand up to you.”
9. So Joshua marched all night from Gilgal and took them by surprise.
10. The Lord threw the enemy into disorder in front of Israel and defeated them decisively at Gibeon. He chased them along the road that goes to the slope of Beth Horon and continued to defeat them all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11. As they fled from the Israelites down the slope of Beth Horon toward Azekah, the Lord threw huge hailstones on them. More died from the hailstones than from Israelite swords.
12. The day the Lord handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord while Israel was watching,“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,and moon, stand still over the valley of Aijalon!”
13. The sun stood still,and the moon stoppeduntil a nation got revenge on its enemies.Isn’t this recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and for nearly a day the sun was in no hurry to set.
14. Never before or after this day was there anything like it. The Lord did what a man told him to do, because the Lord fought for Israel.
15. Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
16. The five kings ran away and hid in the cave at Makkedah.
17. Someone told Joshua, “The five kings have been found. They are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”