Joshua 10:22-27

10:22 Joshua said, “Open the cave’s mouth and bring the five kings ¹  out of the cave to me.” 10:23 They did as ordered; ²  they brought the five kings ³  out of the cave to him – the kings of Jerusalem, ⁴  Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 10:24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he ⁵  summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here ⁶  and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up ⁷  and put their feet on their necks. 10:25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ⁸  Be strong and brave, for the Lord will do the same thing to all your enemies you fight. 10:26 Then Joshua executed them ⁹  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. ¹⁰  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.) ¹¹ 

[10:22]  ¹ tn Heb “these five kings.”

[10:23]  ² tn Heb “they did so.”

[10:23]  ³ tn Heb “these five kings.”

[10:23]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:24]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “Draw near.”

[10:24]  ⁷ tn Or “drew near.”

[10:25]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”

[10:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”

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

[10:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to this very day.” The words “They remain” are supplied in the translation for clarification.