And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

He said again to them: Fear not, neither be ye dismayed, take courage and be strong: for so will the Lord do to all your enemies, against whom you fight.

And Joshua said to them, Fear not, neither be dismayed; be strong and courageous, for thus will Jehovah do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

And Joshua saith unto them, 'Fear not, nor be affrighted; be strong and courageous; for thus doth Jehovah do to all your enemies with whom ye are fighting;'

And Joshua said to them, Have no fear and do not be troubled; be strong and take heart: for so will the Lord do to all against whom you make war.

Joshua said to them, 'Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong and of good courage, for the LORD will do this to all your enemies against whom you fight.'

he spoke to them again: "Do not be afraid, and do not dread. Be strengthened and be steadfast. For so will the Lord do to all your enemies, against whom you fight."

Tunc dixit ad eos Josue, Ne timeatis, et ne paveatis, fortes estoate, et roborate vos: sic enim faciet Jehova omnibus inimicis vestris contra quos pugnatis.

And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, etc Joshua now triumphs in the persons of the five kings over all the others who remained. For he exhorts his own people to confidence, just as if those who still stood unsubdued were actually prostrate under their feet. Hence we gather, that by the trampling down of a few, the whole people were so elated, that they looked down with contempt on all the others, as if they were already overthrown. And, certainly, we have here a brighter display of the divine power, which could thus inspire confidence for the future. It is to be observed, however, that the kings were hung up, not for the purpose of exercising greater severity upon them, but merely by way of ignominy, as they were already slain. It was expedient that this memorable act of divine vengeance should be openly displayed in the view of all. Perhaps, also, it was the divine purpose to infuriate the other nations by despair, and drive them to madness, that they might bring down swifter destruction on themselves, whetting the wrath of the Israelites by their obstinacy. The same ignominy is inflicted on the king of Makkedah, though he had not led out his forces, and a similar destruction is executed on the whole people, who had kept quiet within their walls. [1] It is probable, indeed, that they had made some hostile attempt, but the special reason was, that God had passed the same sentence upon all. Why the dead bodies were thrown into the cave at evening, I have elsewhere explained. Moreover, this whole history holds up to us as in a mirror, how, when the Lord is seated on his tribunal, all worldly splendor vanishes before him, and the glory of those who seemed to excel is turned by his judgment into the greatest disgrace.

Footnotes

1 - French, "Tout le peuple qui n'estoit point sorti de la ville n'en a pas eut meilleur conte;" "All the people who had not come out from the town did not get easier off." -- Ed.

And Joshua said, rest not, nor be dismayed,.... Not meaning at the kings, who perhaps lay bound upon the ground, or however were not in a condition to make any resistance, so that they had nothing to fear from them; but this respects future time, and what other enemies they should meet with; who would be brought into subjection to them as these were, and therefore from hence should take heart:
be strong, and of good courage; and go on valiantly in subduing the rest of their enemies, and not be afraid of them:
for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight; put them into their hands, and give them power to tread on their necks: this shows that what Joshua did, or ordered to be done, was of the Lord.