Job’s Honor Turned to Contempt

¹“But now they mock me,men younger than I am,whose fathers I would have refusedto put with my sheep dogs.

²What use to me was the strength of their hands,since their vigor had left them?

³Gaunt from poverty and hunger,they gnawed the dry land,and the desolate wasteland by night.

⁴They plucked mallow among the shrubs,and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

⁵They were banished from among men,shouted at like thieves,

⁶so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis,among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

⁷They cried out among the shrubsand huddled beneath the nettles.

⁸A senseless and nameless brood,they were driven off the land.

⁹And now they mock me in song;I have become a byword among them.

¹⁰They abhor me and keep far from me;they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

¹¹Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,they have cast off restraintin my presence.

¹²The rabble arises at my right;they lay snares for my feetand build siege ramps against me.

¹³They tear up my path;they profit from my destruction,with no one to restrain them.

¹⁴They advance as through a wide breach;through the ruins they keep rolling in.

Job’s Prosperity Becomes Calamity

¹⁵Terrors are turned loose against me;they drive away my dignity as by the wind,and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

¹⁶And now my soul is poured out within me;days of affliction grip me.

¹⁷Night pierces my bones,and my gnawing pains never rest.

¹⁸With great force He grasps my garment;He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.

¹⁹He throws me into the mud,and I have become like dust and ashes.

²⁰I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer;when I stand up, You merely look at me.

²¹You have ruthlessly turned on me;You oppose me with Your strong hand.

²²You snatch me up into the windand drive me before it;You toss me aboutin the storm.

²³Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death,to the place appointed for all the living.

²⁴Yet no one stretches out his hand against a ruined manwhen he cries for help in his distress.

²⁵Have I not wept for those in trouble?Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

²⁶But when I hoped for good, evil came;when I looked for light, darkness fell.

²⁷I am churning within and cannot rest;days of affliction confront me.

²⁸I go about blackened, but not by the sun.I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

²⁹I have become a brother of jackals,a companion of ostriches.

³⁰My skin grows black and peels,and my bones burn with fever.

³¹My harp is tuned to mourningand my flute to the sound of weeping.

Conquest of the Northern Cities

¹Now when Jabin king of Hazor heard about these things, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon; to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph;

²to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills,and in Naphoth-dorto the west;

³to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.

⁴So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.

⁵All these kings joined forces and encamped at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

⁶Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”

⁷So by the waters of Merom, Joshua and his whole army came upon them suddenly and attacked them,

⁸and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors.

⁹Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.

¹⁰At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms.

¹¹The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction.Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

¹²Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.

¹³Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned.

¹⁴The Israelites took for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but they put all the people to the sword until they had completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone who breathed.

¹⁵As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

Joshua Takes the Whole Land

¹⁶So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,

¹⁷from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.

¹⁸Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.

¹⁹No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle.

²⁰For it was of the LORD to hardentheir hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²¹At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.

²²No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.

²³So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

The Day the Sun Stood Still

¹Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction—doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.

²So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

³Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,

⁴“Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”

⁵So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷So Joshua and his whole army, including all the mighty men of valor, came from Gilgal.

⁸The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”

⁹After marching all night from Gilgal, Joshua caught them by surprise.

¹⁰And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.

¹²On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel:“O sun, stand still over Gibeon,O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”

¹³So the sun stood stilland the moon stoppeduntil the nation took vengeanceupon its enemies.Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?“So the sun stoppedin the middle of the skyand delayed going downabout a full day.”

¹⁴There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel.

¹⁵Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

The Victory at Makkedah

¹⁶Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah.

¹⁷And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”

¹⁸So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them.

¹⁹But you, do not stop there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.”

²⁰So Joshua and the Israelites continued to inflict a terrible slaughter until they had finished them off, and the remaining survivors retreated to the fortified cities.

²¹The whole army returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one dared to utter a word against the Israelites.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.”

²³So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

²⁴When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.”So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.

²⁵“Do not be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua said. “Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all the enemies you fight.”

²⁶After this, Joshua struck down and killed the kings, and he hung their bodies on five treesand left them there until evening.

²⁷At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.

²⁸On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of the Southern Cities

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.

³⁰And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel, and Joshua put all the people to the sword, leaving no survivors. And he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They laid siege to it and fought against it.

³²And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He put all the people to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.

³³At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors.

³⁴So Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon, and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and fought against it.

³⁵That day they captured Eglon and put it to the sword, and Joshua devoted to destruction everyone in the city, just as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it.

³⁷They captured it and put to the sword its king, all its villages, and all the people. Joshua left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon; he devoted to destruction Hebron and everyone in it.

³⁸Finally Joshua and all Israel with him turned toward Debir and fought against it.

³⁹And they captured Debir, its king, and all its villages. They put them to the sword and devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. Joshua did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills,and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

⁴¹Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

⁴²And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.

⁴³Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

I Cry Out before You

¹O LORD, the God of my salvation,day and night I cry out before You.

²May my prayer come before You;incline Your ear to my cry.

³For my soul is full of troubles,and my life draws near to Sheol.

⁴I am counted among those descending to the Pit.I am like a man without strength.

⁵I am forsaken among the dead,like the slain who lie in the grave,whom You remember no more,who are cut off from Your care.

⁶You have laid me in the lowest Pit,in the darkest of the depths.

⁷Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;all Your waves have submerged me.Selah

⁸You have removed my friends from me;You have made me repulsive to them;I am confined and cannot escape.

⁹My eyes grow dim with grief.I call to You daily, O LORD;I spread out my hands to You.

¹⁰Do You work wonders for the dead?Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?Selah

¹¹Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,Your faithfulness in Abaddon?

¹²Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

¹³But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;in the morning my prayer comes before You.

¹⁴Why, O LORD, do You reject me?Why do You hide Your face from me?

¹⁵From my youth I was afflicted and near death.I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.

¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me;Your terrors have destroyed me.

¹⁷All day long they engulf me like water;they enclose me on every side.

¹⁸You have removed my beloved and my friend;darkness is my closest companion.