1. At this time Adoni Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had defeated Ai and completely destroyed it. The king learned that Joshua had done the same thing to Jericho and its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace agreement with Israel and that they lived very near Jerusalem.
2. So Adoni Zedek and his people were very frightened. Gibeon was not a small town like Ai. It was a very big city—as big as any royal city. And all the men in that city were good fighters, so the king was afraid.
3. King Adoni Zedek of Jerusalem talked with King Hoham of Hebron. He also talked with King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon. The king of Jerusalem begged these men,
4. “Come with me and help me attack Gibeon. Gibeon has made a peace agreement with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5. So these five Amorite kings joined their armies together. (The five kings were the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.) Their armies went to Gibeon, surrounded the city, and began fighting against it.
6. The people in the city of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua at his camp at Gilgal: “We are your servants! Don’t leave us alone. Come and help us! Hurry! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the hill country have brought their armies together to fight against us.”
7. So Joshua marched out of Gilgal with his whole army. His best fighting men were with him.
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.”