4. “The Gibeonites have signed a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelites. Come and help me attack Gibeon!”
5. When these five Amorite kings called their armies together and attacked Gibeon,
6. the Gibeonites sent a message to the Israelite camp at Gilgal: “Joshua, please come and rescue us! The Amorite kings from the hill country have joined together and are attacking us. We are your servants, so don't let us down. Please hurry!”
7. Joshua and his army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal.
8. “Joshua,” the Lord said, “don't be afraid of the Amorites. They will run away when you attack, and I will help you defeat them.”
9. Joshua marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon and made a surprise attack on the Amorite camp.
10. The Lord made the enemy panic, and the Israelites started killing them right and left. They chased the Amorite troops up the road to Beth-Horon and kept on killing them, until they reached the towns of Azekah and Makkedah.
11. And while these troops were going down through Beth-Horon Pass, the Lord made huge hailstones fall on them all the way to Azekah. More of the enemy soldiers died from the hail than from the Israelite weapons.
12-13. The Lord was helping the Israelites defeat the Amorites that day. So about midday, Joshua prayed to the Lord loud enough for the Israelites to hear:“Our Lord, make the sun stopin the sky over Gibeon,and the moon stand stillover Aijalon Valley.”So the sun and the moonstopped and stood stilluntil Israel defeated its enemies.This poem can be found in The Book of Jashar. The sun stood still and didn't go down for about a whole day.
14. Never before and never since has the Lord done anything like that for someone who prayed. The Lord was really fighting for Israel.
15. After the battle, Joshua and the Israelites went back to their camp at Gilgal.
16. While the enemy soldiers were running from the Israelites, the five enemy kings ran away and hid in a cave near Makkedah.
17. Joshua's soldiers told him, “The five kings have been found in a cave near Makkedah.”
18. Joshua answered, “Roll some big stones over the mouth of the cave and leave a few soldiers to guard it.
19. But you and everyone else must keep following the enemy troops, because they will be safe if they reach their walled towns. Don't let them get away! The Lord our God is helping us get rid of them.”
20. So Joshua and the Israelites almost wiped out the enemy soldiers. Only a few safely reached their walled towns.