Joshua 10:11-13
New English Translation
11 As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from[a] Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky,[b] all the way to Azekah. They died—in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12 The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel:[c]
“O sun, stand still over Gibeon;
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”
13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One.[d] The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day.[e]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 10:11 tn Heb “on the descent of.”
- Joshua 10:11 tn Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Joshua 10:12 tn Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day the Lord placed the Amorites before the sons of Israel and he said in the eyes of Israel.” It is uncertain whether the phrase “before the sons of Israel” modifies the verb “placed” (as in the present translation, “delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites”) or the verb “spoke” (“Joshua spoke to the Lord before the sons of Israel in the day the Lord delivered over the Amorites”).
- Joshua 10:13 tn Heb “Is it not written down in the Scroll of the Upright One?” Many modern translations render this as “the Book of Jashar.” Yashar (יָשָׁר) means “Upright One.”sn The Scroll of the Upright One was apparently an ancient Israelite collection of songs and prayers (see also 2 Sam 1:18), but it has not been preserved.
- Joshua 10:13 tn Heb “and did not hurry to set [for] about a full day.”sn The nature of the event described here is debated. Various options have been suggested, including (1) the earth stopped rotating, (2) the light of the sun somehow shone longer than normal, (3) the light of the sun was blocked by an eclipse, (4) the position of the sun and moon in the sky was interpreted as an omen, or (5) the language is figurative and metaphorical, describing the battle in poetic terms. For a good discussion of these options, see D. M. Howard, Jr., Joshua (NAC), 241-49.
Joshua 10:11-13
New International Version
11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones(A) down on them,(B) and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(C) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(D)”
13 So the sun stood still,(E)
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on[a] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(F)
The sun stopped(G) in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
Footnotes
- Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over
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