And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day.
Laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day. This rude monument, which would stand for ages, would be a permanent record of the war of invasion. With what exultation and lively gratitude would the Israelite contemporaries of Joshua point to the gathered heap around the cave at Makkedah, and tell their children's children of the wonders of the field of Gibeon, and how on one day the gallant Joshua, by God's favour, quelled the pride of five kings.