When we heard all this, our courage melted away. Nobody had any fighting spirit left because of you. For the Lord your God is God of heaven above and the earth below.
Then Naaman and his whole entourage went back to the man of God, stood before him, and Naaman announced, “Now I'm convinced that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept a gift from me, your servant.”
When all our enemies found out they were frightened; all the nations around were very discouraged, for they recognized that this had been done by our God.
In every province and in every city, wherever the king's order and decree had reached, the Jews were joyful and happy—they feasted and celebrated. Many people became Jews, because they had become afraid of them.
A message about Egypt. Look, the Lord is riding on a fast-moving cloud on his way to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the Egyptians will become weak with fear.
I have placed a sword at all the gates of their city so that they may lose their courage, and many may fall. Oh no! It's made to flash like lightning and used to kill.
Where are we going? Our brothers terrified us because they told us: ‘The people are bigger and taller than us; the towns are large, with high walls that reach the sky. We even saw the descendants of the giant Anak there!’”
The officers are also to tell the army, “Is there any man here who is afraid or nervous? He can go home, so he won't affect his fellow-soldiers and make them as frightened as himself.”
When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings of the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the River Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over, their courage melted and they no longer had any fighting spirit to face the Israelites.
The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing the Israelites from the town gate until they were defeated, killing them on their way down. At this the Israelites became afraid, losing all their courage.
They answered Joshua, “We your servants were told very clearly that the Lord your God had ordered Moses to give you all this land, and that all its inhabitants were to be wiped out before you. So we really feared for our lives because of you. That's why we did what we did.
They called on the mountains and the rocks, telling them, “Fall upon us! Hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne, and from the judgment of the Lamb.