8. The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of those armies. I will allow you to defeat them. None of them will be able to defeat you.”
9. Joshua and his army marched all night to Gibeon, so it was a complete surprise when he attacked them.
10. The Lord caused those armies to be very confused when Israel attacked. So Israel defeated them and won a great victory. Israel chased the enemy from Gibeon along the road going up to Beth Horon. The army of Israel killed men all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11. Then they chased the enemy down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. While they were chasing the enemy, the Lord caused large hailstones to fall from the sky. Many of the enemy were killed by these large hailstones. More men were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the soldiers of Israel.
12. On that day the Lord gave Israel the victory against the Amorites. Joshua stood before all the Israelites and said to the Lord: “Sun, stop over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13. So the sun did not move, and the moon stopped until the people defeated their enemies. This story is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It did not move for a full day.
14. That had never happened before, and it has never happened again. That was the day the Lord obeyed a man. The Lord really was fighting for Israel!
15. After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
16. But during the fight, the five kings ran away. They hid in a cave near Makkedah,
17. but someone found them hiding in that cave. Joshua learned about this.
18. He said, “Cover the entrance to the cave with large rocks. Put some men there to guard the cave.
19. But don’t stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy and attacking them from behind. Don’t let the enemy get back to their cities. The Lord your God has given you the victory over them.”
20. So Joshua and the Israelites killed the enemy. But some of them were able to go to their cities that had tall walls around them and hide. These men were not killed.
21. After the fighting, Joshua’s men came back to him at Makkedah. Not one of the people in that country was brave enough to say anything against the Israelites.
22. Joshua said, “Move the rocks that are covering the entrance to the cave. Bring the five kings to me.”
23. So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.
24. When they brought the five kings to Joshua, he called all his men to come to that place. He said to the officers of his army, “Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the officers of Joshua’s army came close and put their feet on the necks of the kings.
25. Then Joshua said to his men, “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid. I will show you what the Lord will do to all the enemies you will fight in the future.”