Joshua 10:16-27

10:16 The five Amorite kings ¹  ran away and hid in the cave at Makkedah. 10:17 Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.” 10:18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and post guards in front of it. ²  10:19 But don’t you delay! Chase your enemies and catch them! ³  Don’t allow them to retreat to ⁴  their cities, for the Lord your God is handing them over to you.” ⁵  10:20 Joshua and the Israelites almost totally wiped them out, but some survivors did escape to the fortified cities. ⁶  10:21 Then the whole army safely returned to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah. ⁷  No one ⁸  dared threaten the Israelites. ⁹  10:22 Joshua said, “Open the cave’s mouth and bring the five kings ¹⁰  out of the cave to me.” 10:23 They did as ordered; ¹¹  they brought the five kings ¹²  out of the cave to him – the kings of Jerusalem, ¹³  Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 10:24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he ¹⁴  summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here ¹⁵  and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up ¹⁶  and put their feet on their necks. 10:25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ¹⁷  Be strong and brave, for the Lord will do the same thing to all your enemies you fight. 10:26 Then Joshua executed them ¹⁸  and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening. 10:27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take them down from the trees. ¹⁹  They threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled large stones over the mouth of the cave. (They remain to this very day.) ²⁰ 

[10:16]  ¹ tn Heb “these five kings.”

[10:18]  ² tn Heb “and appoint by it men to guard them.”

[10:19]  ³ tn Heb “But [as for] you, don’t stand still, chase after your enemies and attack them from the rear.”

[10:19]  ⁴ tn Or “enter into.”

[10:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “has given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.

[10:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “When Joshua and the sons of Israel finished defeating them with a very great defeat until they were destroyed (now the survivors escaped to the fortified cities).” In the Hebrew text the initial temporal clause (“when Joshua…finished”) is subordinated to v. 21 (“the whole army returned”).

[10:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua [at] Makkedah [in] peace.”

[10:21]  ⁸ tc Heb “No man.” The lamed (ל) prefixed to אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is probably dittographic (note the immediately preceding יִשְׂרָאֵל [isra’el] which ends in lamed, ל); cf. the LXX.

[10:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “no man sharpened [or perhaps, “pointed”] his tongue against the sons of Israel.” Cf. NEB “not a man of the Israelites suffered so much as a scratch on his tongue,” which understands “sharpened” as “scratched” (referring to a minor wound). Most modern translations understand the Hebrew expression “sharpened his tongue” figuratively for opposition or threats against the Israelites.

[10:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “these five kings.”

[10:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they did so.”

[10:23]  ¹² tn Heb “these five kings.”

[10:23]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.

[10:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Draw near.”

[10:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “drew near.”

[10:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[10:26]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”

[10:27]  ¹⁹ sn For the legal background of the removal of the corpses before sundown, see Deut 21:22-23.

[10:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to this very day.” The words “They remain” are supplied in the translation for clarification.