5. So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon.
6. The men of Gibeon quickly sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. “Don’t abandon your servants now!” they pleaded. “Come at once! Save us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us.”
7. So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon.
8. “Do not be afraid of them,” the lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”
9. Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise.
10. The lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
11. As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12. On the day the lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon,and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”
13. So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.
14. There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the lord answered such a prayer. Surely the lord fought for Israel that day!
15. Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to their camp at Gilgal.
16. During the battle the five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah.
17. When Joshua heard that they had been found,
18. he issued this command: “Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks, and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside.
19. The rest of you continue chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear. Don’t give them a chance to get back to their towns, for the lord your God has given you victory over them.”
20. So Joshua and the Israelite army continued the slaughter and completely crushed the enemy. They totally wiped out the five armies except for a tiny remnant that managed to reach their fortified towns.