1. Now when Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured Ai and put it under the ban, and had done to that city and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made their peace with Israel, remaining among them,
2. there was great fear abroad, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, greater even than Ai, and all its men were warriors.
3. So Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon, with this message:
4. “Come and help me attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5. The five Amorite kings, of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, gathered with all their forces, and marched against Gibeon to make war on it.
6. Thereupon, the Gibeonites sent an appeal to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up here quickly and save us. Help us, because all the Amorite kings of the mountain country have joined together against us.”
7. So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with all his army and all his warriors.
8. The Lord said to Joshua: Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your power. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.
9. After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua made a surprise attack upon them,
10. and the Lord threw them into disorder before Israel. The Israelites inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon and pursued them down the Beth-horon slope, attacking them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
11. While they fled before Israel along the descent of Beth-horon, the Lord hurled great stones from the heavens above them all the way to Azekah, killing many. More died from these hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.