The Legends of the Jews, vol 4 | Page 7

upon an old slave whom he owns, and had not God given heaven and
earth to our father Abraham? (41) Nay, more than this, had not the sun
himself bowed down like a slave before Joseph? "But," said the sun,
"who will praise God if I am silent?" (42) Whereupon Joshua: "Be thou
silent, and I will intone a song of praise." (43) And he sang thus:
1. Thou hast done mighty things, O Lord, Thou has performed great
deeds. Who is like unto Thee? My lips shall sing unto Thy name.
2. My goodness and my fortress, my refuge, I will sing a new song unto
Thee, with thanksgiving I will sing unto Thee, Thou art the strength of
my salvation.
3. All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, the princes of the world
shall sing unto Thee, the children of Israel shall rejoice in Thy salvation,
they shall sing and praise Thy power.
4. In Thee, O God, did we trust; we said, Thou art our God, for Thou
wast our shelter and our strong tower against our enemies.
5. To Thee we cried, and we were not ashamed; in Thee we trusted, and
we were delivered; when we cried unto Thee, Thou didst hear our voice,
Thou didst deliver our souls from the sword.
6. Thou hast shown unto us Thy mercy, Thou didst give unto us Thy
salvation, Thou didst rejoice our hearts with Thy strength.
7. Thou wentest forth for our salvation; with the strength of Thy arm
Thou didst redeem Thy people; Thou did console us from the heavens
of Thy holiness, Thou didst save us from tens of thousands.
8. Sun and moon stood still in heaven, and Thou didst stand in Thy
wrath against our oppressors, and Thou didst execute Thy judgements
upon them.
9. All the princes of the earth stood up, the kings of the nations had
gathered themselves together, they were not moved at Thy presence,
they desired Thy battles.
10. Thou didst rise against them in Thine anger, and Thou didst bring

down Thy wrath upon them, Thou didst destroy them in Thy fury, and
Thou didst ruin them in Thy rage.
11. Nations raged from fear of Thee, kingdoms tottered because of Thy
wrath, Thou didst wound kings in the day of Thine anger.
12. Thou didst pour out Thy fury upon them, Thy wrathful anger took
hold of them, Thou didst turn their iniquity upon them, and Thou didst
cut them off in their wickedness.
13. They spread a trap, they fell therein, in the net they hid their foot
was caught.
14. Thine hand found all Thine enemies, who said, through their sword
they possessed the land, through their arm thy dwelt in the city.
15. Thou didst fill their faces with shame, Thou didst bring their horns
down to the ground.
16. Thou didst terrify them in Thy wrath, and thou didst destroy them
from before Thee.
17. The earth quaked and trembled from the noise of Thy thunder
against them; Thou didst not withhold their souls from earth, and Thou
didst bring down their lives to the grave.
18. Thou didst pursue them in Thy storm, Thou didst consume them in
the whirlwind, Thou didst turn their rain into hail, they fell in floods, so
that they could not rise.
19. Their carcasses were like rubbish cast out in the middle of the
streets.
20. They were consumed, and they perished before Thee, Thou hast
delivered Thy people in Thy might.
21. Therefore our hearts rejoice in Thee, our souls exult in Thy
salvation.
22. Our tongues shall relate Thy might, we will sing and praise Thy
wondrous works.
23. For Thou didst save us from our enemies, Thou didst deliver us
from those who rose up against us, Thou didst destroy them from
before us, and depress them beneath our feet.
24. Thus shall all Thine enemies perish, O Lord, and the wicked shall
be like chaff driven by the wind, and Thy beloved shall be like trees
planted by the waters. (44)
WAR WITH THE ARMENIANS
Joshua's victorious course did not end with the conquest of the land.

His war with the Armenians, after Palestine was subdued, marked the
climax of his heroic deeds. Among the thirty-one kings whom Joshua
had slain, there was one whose son, Shobach by name, was king of
Armenia. With the purpose of waging war with Joshua, he united the
forty-five kings of Persia and Media, and they were joined by the
renowned hero Japheth. The allied kings in a letter informed Joshua of
their design against him as follow: "The noble, distinguished council of
the kings of Persia and Media to Joshua, peace! Thou wolf of the desert,
we well know what thou didst to