God’s Word Translation
Joshua 10:12
12The day the Lord handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord while Israel was watching, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, stand still over the valley of Aijalon!”
Joshua 10:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
- New International Version (NIV)On the day the Lord gave the Amorites 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
Context of Joshua 10:12
10The Lord threw the enemy into disorder in front of Israel and defeated them decisively at Gibeon. He chased them along the road that goes to the slope of Beth Horon and continued to defeat them all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11As they fled from the Israelites down the slope of Beth Horon toward Azekah, the Lord threw huge hailstones on them. More died from the hailstones than from Israelite swords. The day the Lord handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord while Israel was watching, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, stand still over the valley of Aijalon!” 13The sun stood still, and the moon stopped until a nation got revenge on its enemies. Isn’t this recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and for nearly a day the sun was in no hurry to set. 14Never before or after this day was there anything like it. The Lord did what a man told him to do, because the Lord fought for Israel.
Read all of Joshua 10Joshua 10:12 word by word
אָ֣ז יְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה בְּי֗וֹם תֵּ֤ת יְהוָה֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱמֹרִ֔י לִפְנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ לְעֵינֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל שֶׁ֚מֶשׁ בְּגִבְע֣וֹן דּ֔וֹם וְיָרֵ֖חַ בְּעֵ֥מֶק אַיָּלֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- to the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- delivered upנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- the Amoritesאֱמֹרִי'ĕmôrîy · AmoriteH567
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- and he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
- Sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
- stand thou stillדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: stationaryH1826
- upon Gibeonגִּבְעוֹןgib‛ôn · GibeonH1391
- and thou, Moonיָרֵחַyârêach · moonH3394
- in the valleyעֵ֫מֶק‛êmeq · valleyH6010
- of Ajalonאַיָּלוֹן'ayâlôn · AijalonH357
Cross-references for Joshua 10:12
- Joshua 10:13The sun stood still, and the moon stopped until a nation got revenge on its enemies. Isn’t this recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and for nearly a day the sun was in no hurry to set.
- Deuteronomy 4:19Don’t let yourselves be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky—the sun, the moon, the stars, or anything else. The Lord your God has given them to all people everywhere.
- Deuteronomy 17:3by worshiping and bowing down to other gods, the sun, the moon, or the whole army of heaven. I have forbidden this.
- Job 9:7He commands the sun not to rise. He doesn’t let the stars come out.
- Job 31:26If I saw the light shine or the moon move along in its splendor
- Psalms 19:4⌞Yet,⌟ their sound has gone out into the entire world, their message to the ends of the earth. He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
- Psalms 74:16The day and the night are yours. You set the moon and the sun in their places.
- Psalms 148:3Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him, all shining stars.
- Isaiah 28:21The Lord will rise as he did on Mount Perazim. He will wake up as he did in Gibeon Valley. He will do his work, his unexpected work, and perform his deeds, his mysterious deeds.
- Isaiah 38:8The sun made a shadow that went down the stairway of Ahaz’s upper palace. I’m going to make the shadow go back ten steps.” So the sun on the stairway went back up the ten steps it had gone down.
- Isaiah 60:20Your sun will no longer go down, nor will your moon disappear. The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sadness will be over.
- Amos 8:9On that day, declares the Almighty Lord, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
- Habakkuk 3:11The sun and the moon stand still. They scatter at the light of your arrows, at the bright lightning of your spear.
- Habakkuk 2:20The Lord is in his holy temple. All the earth should be silent in his presence.
- Zechariah 2:13“Everyone be silent in the presence of the Lord. He is waking up and setting out from his holy dwelling place.”
- Joshua 19:42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
Commentaries on Joshua 10:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Then spake Joshua to the Lord - Though Joshua saw that the enemies of his people were put to flight, yet he well knew that all which escaped would rally again, and that he should be obliged to meet them once more in the field of battle if permitted now to escape; finding that the day was drawing towards a close, he feared that he should not have time sufficient to complete the destruction of the confederate armies; in this moment, being suddenly inspired…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12-15Verses 12-15 These four verses seem to be a fragment or extract taken from some other and independent source and inserted into the thread of the narrative after it had been completed, and inserted most probably by another hand than that of the author of the Book of Joshua. It is probable that Joshua 10:12 and the first half of Joshua 10:13 alone belong to the Book of Jasher and are poetical, and that the rest of this passage is prose. The writer of this…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-14Verses 7-14 The meanest and most feeble, who have just begun to trust the Lord, are as much entitled to be protected as those who have long and faithfully been his servants. It is our duty to defend the afflicted, who, like the Gibeonites, are brought into trouble on our account, or for the sake of the gospel. Joshua would not forsake his new vassals. How much less shall our true Joshua fail those who trust in Him! We may be wanting in our trust, but our…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12Joshua prayed for the day to extend so the Israelites could complete their task. This prevented the Amorites from organizing a new defense against Israel. The sun and moon, considered powerful gods in Canaan, were powerless against the LORD. Aijalon was a city near the western end of the Beth-horon road.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1512-15. Then spake Joshua to the Lord ... and ... he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still ... and thou, Moon--The inspired author here breaks off the thread of his history of this miraculous victory to introduce a quotation from an ancient poem, in which the mighty acts of that day were commemorated. The passage, which is parenthetical, contains a poetical description of the victory which was miraculously gained by the help of God, and forms…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 10:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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