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 Joshua surprised them when he attacked.
10. The Lord confused those armies when Israel attacked. So Israel defeated them in a great victory. They chased them from Gibeon on the road going to Beth Horon. The army of Israel killed men all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11. They chased the enemy down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. While they were chasing them, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky. Many of the enemy were killed by the hailstones. More men were killed by the hailstones than the Israelites killed with their swords.
12. That day the Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat the Amorites. And that day Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord:“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13. So the sun stood still.And the moon stoppeduntil the people defeated their enemies.These words are written in the Book of Jashar.The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It waited to go down for a full day.
14. That has never happened at any time before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a man. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15. After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.
16. During the fight the five kings ran away. They hid in a cave near Makkedah.
17. But someone found them hiding in the cave and told Joshua.
18. So he said, “Cover the opening to the cave with large rocks. Put some men there to guard it.
19. But don’t stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy. Continue attacking them from behind. Don’t let them get to their cities safely. The Lord your God has given you the victory over them.”
20. So Joshua and the Israelites killed the enemy. But a few were able to get back to their strong, walled cities.
21. After the fighting, Joshua’s men came back safely to him at Makkedah. No one was brave enough to say a word against the Israelites.
22. Joshua said, “Move the rocks that are covering the opening to the cave. Bring those five kings out to me.”
23. So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon.