The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts Page 91

  61 And while they were fleeing, the Lord sent on them hailstones from heaven, and more of them died by the hailstones than by the slaughter of the children of Israel.

  62 The children of Israel pursued them, and they still struck them in the road, going on and smiting them.

  63 And when they were smiting, the day was declining toward evening and Joshua said in the sight of all the people, Sun, stand still on Gibeon, and you moon in the valley of Ajalon, until the nation shall have revenged itself on its enemies.

  64 The Lord listened to the voice of Joshua, and the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and it stood still six and thirty moments, and the moon also stood still and hurried not to go down a whole day.

  65 And there was no day like that, before it or after it that the Lord listened to the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.

  CHAPTER 89

  1 Then Joshua spoke this song on the day that the Lord had given the Amorites into the hand of Joshua and the children of Israel, and he said it in the sight of all Israel,

  2 You have done mighty things, O Lord, you have performed great deeds; who is like you? My lips shall sing to your name.

  3 My goodness and my fortress, my high tower, I will sing a new song to you; with thanksgiving I will sing to you, you are the strength of my salvation.

  4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, the princes of the world shall sing to you, the children of Israel shall rejoice in your salvation; they shall sing and praise your power.

  5 To you, O Lord, we confided; we said you are our God, for you were our shelter and strong tower against our enemies.

  6 To you we cried and were not ashamed, in you we trusted and were delivered; when we cried to you, you heard our voice, you delivered our souls from the sword, you showed to us your grace, you gave to us your salvation, you rejoiced our hearts with your strength.

  7 You went forth for our salvation, with your arm you redeemed your people; you answered us from the heavens of your holiness, you saved us from ten thousands of people.

  8 The sun and moon stood still in heaven, and you stood in your wrath against our oppressors and commanded your judgments over them.

  9 All the princes of the earth stood up, the kings of the nations had gathered themselves together, they were not moved at your presence; they desired your battles.

  10 You rose against them in your anger, and brought down your wrath on them; you destroyed them in your anger, and cut them off in your heart.

  11 Nations have been consumed with your fury, kingdoms have declined because of your wrath, you wounded kings in the day of your anger.

  12 You poured out your fury on them, your wrathful anger took hold of them; you turned their iniquity on them, and cut them off in their wickedness.

  13 They spread a trap and fell therein; in the net they hid, their foot was caught.

  14 Your hand was ready for all your enemies who said, Through their sword they possessed the land, through their arm they lived in the city; you filled their faces with shame, you brought their horns down to the ground, you terrified them in your wrath and destroyed them in your anger.

  15 The earth trembled and shook at the sound of your storm over them, you did not withhold their souls from death, and brought down their lives to the grave.

  16 You pursued them in your storm, you concumed them in your whirlwind, you turned their rain into hail, they fell in deep pits so that they could not rise.

  17 Their carcasses were like rubbish cast out in the middle of the streets.

  18 They were consumed and destroyed in your anger, you saved your people with your might.

  19 Therefore our hearts rejoice in you, our souls exalt in your salvation.

  20 Our tongues shall relate your might, we will sing and praise your wondrous works.

  21 For you did save us from our enemies, you did deliver us from those who rose up against us, you did destroy them from before us and depress them beneath our feet.

  22 Thus shall all your enemies perish O Lord, and the wicked shall be like chaff driven by the wind, and your beloved shall be like trees planted by the waters.

  23 So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp in Gilgal, after having smitten all the kings, so that not a remnant was left of them.

  24 And the five kings fled alone on foot from battle and hid themselves in a cave, and Joshua sought for them in the field of battle and did not find them.

  25 And it was afterward told to Joshua, saying, The kings are found and there, they are hidden in a cave.

  26 And Joshua said, Appoint men to be at the mouth of the cave to guard them, that they not take themselves away. And the children of Israel did so.

  27 And Joshua called to all Israel and said to the officers of battle, Place your feet on the necks of these kings, and Joshua said, So shall the Lord do to all your enemies.

  28 Joshua commanded afterward that they should kill the kings and cast them into the cave, and put great stones at the mouth of the cave.

  29 Joshua went afterward with all the people that were with him on that day to Makkedah, and he struck it with the edge of the sword.

  30 He utterly destroyed the souls and all belonging to the city, and he did to the king and people there as he had done to Jericho.

  31 He passed from there to Libnah and he fought against it; the Lord delivered it into his hands and Joshua struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls there and he did it and to the king there as he had done to Jericho.

  32 From there he passed on to Lachish to fight against it, and Horam king of Gaza went up to assist the men of Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people until there was none left to him.

  33 Joshua took Lachish and all the people there, and he did to it as he had done to Libnah.

  34 Joshua passed from there to Eglon, and he took that also; he struck it and all the people there with the edge of the sword.

  35 From there he passed to Hebron and fought against it and took it and utterly destroyed it; he returned from there with all Israel to Debir and fought against it and struck it with the edge of the sword.

  36 And he destroyed every soul in it, he left none remaining; he did to it and the king thereof as he had done to Jericho.

  37 Joshua struck all the kings of the Amorites from Kadesh-barnea to Azah; he took their country at once, for the Lord had fought for Israel.

  38 And Joshua with all Israel came to the camp to Gilgal.

  39 When at that time Jabin king of Chazor heard all that Joshua had done to the kings of the Amorites, Jabin sent to Jobat king of Midian, and to Laban king of Shimron, to Jephal king of Achshaph, and to all the kings of the Amorites, saying,

  40 Come quickly to us and help us, that we may strike the children of Israel before they come on us and do to us as they have done to the other kings of the Amorites.

  41 And all these kings listened to the words of Jabin, king of Chazor, and they went forth with all their camps, seventeen kings, and their people were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, together with horses and chariots innumerable; they came and camped together at the waters of Merom, and they were met together to fight against Israel.

  42 The Lord said to Joshua, Fear them not, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver them up all slain before you, you shall cripple their horses and burn their chariots with fire.

  43 And Joshua with all the men of war came suddenly on them and struck them, and they fell into their hands, for the Lord had delivered them into the hands of the children of Israel.

  44 So the children of Israel pursued all these kings with their camps and struck them until there was none left of them, and Joshua did to them as the Lord had spoken to him.

  45 Joshua returned at that time to Chazor and struck it with the sword and destroyed every soul in it and burned it with fire; from Chazor, Joshua passed to Shimron and struck it and utterly destroyed it.

  46 From there he passed to Achshaph and he did to it as he had done to Shimro
n.

  47 From there he passed to Adulam and he struck all the people in it, and he did to Adulam as he had done to Achshaph and to Shimron.

  48 He passed from them to all the cities of the kings which he had smitten, and he struck all the people that were left of them and he utterly destroyed them.

  49 Only their booty and cattle the Israelites took to themselves as a prey, but every human being they struck; they permitted not a soul to live.

  50 As the Lord had commanded Moses so did Joshua and all Israel, they failed not in anything.

  51 So Joshua and all the children of Israel struck the whole land of Canaan as the Lord had commanded them, and struck all their kings, being thirty and one kings, and the children of Israel took their whole country.

  52 Besides the kingdoms of Sihon and Og which are on the other side Jordan, of which Moses had smitten many cities, Moses gave them to the Reubenites and the Gadites and to half the tribe of Manasseh.

  53 And Joshua struck all the kings that were on this side of Jordan to the west, and gave them for an inheritance to the nine tribes and to the half tribe of Israel.

  54 For five years Joshua carried on the war with these kings, and he gave their cities to the Israelites, and the land became tranquil from battle throughout the cities of the Amorites and the Canaanites.

  CHAPTER 90

  1 At that time in the fifth year after the children of Israel had passed over Jordan, after the children of Israel had rested from their war with the Canaanites, great and severe battles arose between Edom and the children of Chittim, and the children of Chittim fought against Edom.

  2 Abianus king of Chittim went forth in that year, that is in the thirty-first year of his reign, and a great force with him of the mighty men of the children of Chittim, and he went to Seir to fight against the children of Esau.

  3 Hadad the king of Edom heard of his report, and he went forth to meet him with many people and a strong force, and engaged in battle with him in the field of Edom.

  4 And the hand of Chittim prevailed over the children of Esau, and the children of Chittim killed of the children of Esau two and twenty thousand men, and all the children of Esau fled from before them.

  5 The children of Chittim pursued them and they reached Hadad king of Edom, who was running before them and they caught him alive, and brought him to Abianus king of Chittim.

  6 And Abianus ordered him to be slain; Hadad king of Edom died in the forty-eighth year of his reign.

  7 And the children of Chittim continued their pursuit of Edom; they struck them with a great slaughter and Edom became subject to the children of Chittim.

  8 And the children of Chittim ruled over Edom, and Edom came under the hands of the children of Chittim and became one kingdom from that day.

  9 From that time they could no more lift up their heads, and their kingdom became one with the children of Chittim.

  10 Abianus placed officers in Edom and all the children of Edom became subject to Abianus, and Abianus turned back to his own land, Chittim.

  11 When he returned he renewed his government and built for himself a spacious and fortified palace for a royal residence, and reigned securely over the children of Chittim and over Edom.

  12 In those days, after the children of Israel had driven away all the Canaanites and the Amorites, Joshua was old and advanced in years.

  13 And the Lord said to Joshua, You are old, advanced in life, and a great part of the land remains to be possessed.

  14 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and to the half tribe of Manasseh, and Joshua rose up and did as the Lord had spoken to him.

  15 And he divided the whole land to the tribes of Israel as an inheritance according to their divisions.

  16 But to the tribe at Levi he gave no inheritance. The offerings of the Lord are their inheritance as the Lord had spoken of them by the hand of Moses.

  17 Joshua gave Mount Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephuneh, one portion above his brothers, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

  18 Therefore Hebron became an inheritance to Caleb and his children to this day.

  19 Joshua divided the whole land by lots to all Israel for an inheritance, as the Lord had commanded him.

  20 And the children of Israel gave cities to the Levites from their own inheritance, and suburbs for their cattle, and property; as the Lord had commanded Moses so did the children of Israel, and they divided the land by lot whether great or small.

  21 They went to inherit the land according to their boundaries, and the children of Israel gave to Joshua the son of Nun an inheritance among them.

  22 By the word of the Lord they gave to him the city which he required, Timnath-serach in Mount Ephraim, and he built the city and lived therein.

  23 These are the inheritances which Elazer the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers of the tribes portioned out to the children of Israel by lot in Shiloh, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle, and they left off dividing the land.

  24 And the Lord gave the land to the Israelites, and they possessed it as the Lord had spoken to them, and as the Lord had sworn to their ancestors.

  25 And the Lord gave to the Israelites rest from all their enemies around them, and no man stood up against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands, and not one thing failed of all the good which the Lord had spoken to the children of Israel, yes, the Lord performed everything.

  26 Joshua called to all the children of Israel and he blessed them, and commanded them to serve

  the Lord, and afterward sent them away; they went each man to his city, and each man to his inheritance.

  27 And the children of Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the Lord gave them rest from all around them, and they lived securely in their cities.

  28 It came to pass in those days, that Abianus king of Chittim died, in the thirty-eighth year of his reign, that is the seventh year of his reign over Edom; they buried him in his place which he had built for himself, and Latinus reigned in his stead fifty years.

  29 During his reign he brought forth an army, and he went and fought against the inhabitants of Britannia and Kernania, the children of Elisha son of Javan, and he succeeded over them and made them subjects.

  30 He then heard that Edom had revolted from under the hand of Chittim, and Latinus went to them and struck them and subdued them, and placed them under the hand of the children of Chittim; Edom became one kingdom with the children of Chittim all the days.

  31 And for many years there was no king in Edom, and their government was with the children of Chittim and their king.

  32 It was in the twenty-sixth year after the children of Israel had passed the Jordan, that is the sixty-sixth year after the children of Israel had departed from Egypt, that Joshua was old, advanced in years, being one hundred and eight years old in those days.

  33 Joshua called to all Israel, to their elders, their judges and officers, after the Lord had given to all the Israelites rest from all their enemies round about; Joshua said to the elders of Israel and to their judges, Behold I am old, advanced in years, and you have seen what the Lord has done to all the nations whom he has driven away from before you, for it is the Lord who has fought for you.

  34 Now therefore strengthen yourselves to keep and to do all the words of the law of Moses, not to deviate from it to the right or to the left, and not to come among those nations who are left in the land; neither shall you make mention of the name of their gods, but you shall cleave to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.

  35 Joshua greatly encouraged the children of Israel to serve the Lord all their days.

  36 And all the Israelites said, We will serve the Lord our God all our days, we and our children, and our children's children, and our offspring forever.

  37 Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day and he sent away the children of Israel, and they went each man to his inheritance and to his city.

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nbsp; 38 And it was in those days, when the children of Israel were dwelling securely in their cities, that they buried the coffins of the tribes of their ancestors which they had brought up from Egypt, each man in the inheritance of his children; the twelve sons of Jacob did the children of Israel bury, each man in the possession of his children.

  39 And these are the names of the cities where they buried the twelve sons of Jacob, whom the children of Israel had brought up from Egypt:

  40 They buried Reuben and Gad on this side of Jordan, in Romia, which Moses had given to their children.

  41 And Simeon and Levi they buried in the city Mauda, which he had given to the children of Simeon, and the suburb of the city was for the children of Levi.

  42 And Judah they buried in the city of Benjamin opposite Bethlehem.

  43 And the bones of Issachar and Zebulun they buried in Zidon, in the portion which fell to their children.

  44 Dan was buried in the city of his children in Eshtael, and Naphtali and Asher they buried in Kadesh-naphtali, each man in his place which he had given to his children.

  45 And the bones of Joseph they buried in Shechem in the part of the field which Jacob had purchased from Hamor, and which became to Joseph for an inheritance.

  46 And they buried Benjamin in Jerusalem opposite the Jebusite, which was given to the children of Benjamin; the children of Israel buried their fathers each man in the city of his children.

  47 And at the end of two years, Joshua the son of Nun died, one hundred and ten years old, and the time which Joshua judged Israel was twenty-eight years; Israel served the Lord all the days of his life.

  48 And the other affairs of Joshua and his battles and his reproofs with which he reproved Israel, and all which he had commanded them, and the names of the cities which the children of Israel possessed in his days, they are written in the book of the words of Joshua to the children of Israel and in the book of the wars of the Lord, which Moses and Joshua and the children of Israel had written.