New English Translation
Joshua 10:12
12The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon! O moon, 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 routed them before Israel. Israel thoroughly defeated them at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword. The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon! O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!” 13The 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. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. 14There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed a man, for 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 stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day.
- Deuteronomy 4:19When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world.
- Deuteronomy 17:3by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship.
- Job 9:7he who commands the sun and it does not shine and seals up the stars;
- Job 31:26if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
- Psalms 19:4Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun.
- Psalms 74:16You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place.
- Psalms 148:3Praise him, O sun and moon! Praise him, all you shiny stars!
- Isaiah 28:21For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, to accomplish his work, his peculiar work, to perform his task, his strange task.
- Isaiah 38:8Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.” And then the shadow went back ten steps.
- Isaiah 60:20Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; the Lord will be your permanent source of light; your time of sorrow will be over.
- Amos 8:9In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon, and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.
- Habakkuk 3:11The sun and moon stand still in their courses; the flash of your arrows drives them away, the bright light of your lightning-quick spear.
- Habakkuk 2:20But the Lord is in his majestic palace. The whole earth is speechless in his presence!”
- Zechariah 2:13Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in 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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