¹⁰ At that time Joshua turned back. He captured Hazor. He killed its king with his sword. Hazor was the most important city in all those kingdoms. ¹¹ The army of Israel killed everyone in Hazor with their swords. Its people had been set apart to the Lord to be destroyed. Israel’s army didn’t spare anyone who breathed. Then Joshua burned down the city.

¹² Joshua captured all those royal cities and their kings. He and his men killed everyone in those cities with their swords. He totally destroyed them. He did just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. ¹³ Many cities were built on top of earlier cities that had been destroyed. Israel didn’t burn any of those except Hazor. Joshua burned it down. ¹⁴ The army of Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they took from those cities. But they killed all the people with their swords. They completely destroyed them. They didn’t spare anyone who breathed. ¹⁵ The Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do all these things. Moses had passed that command on to Joshua. And Joshua carried it out. He did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁶ So Joshua captured the whole land. He took over the central hill country and the whole Negev Desert. He took over the whole area of Goshen. He took over the western hills. He took over the Arabah Valley. He took over the mountains of Israel and the hills around them. ¹⁷ He took over the area that begins at Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. The area ends at Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. Joshua captured the kings who ruled over that whole land. He put them to death. ¹⁸ He fought battles against all those kings for a long time. ¹⁹ Only the Hivites who lived in Gibeon made a peace treaty with the Israelites. No other city made a treaty with them. So Israel captured all those cities in battle. ²⁰ The Lord himself made their people stubborn. He made them go to war against Israel so he could totally destroy them. He wanted to wipe them out. He didn’t show them any mercy. The Lord had commanded Moses to destroy the Canaanites.

²¹ At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites. They lived all through the hill country of Judah and Israel. They lived in Hebron, Debir and Anab. Joshua totally destroyed the Anakites and their towns. ²² There weren’t any Anakites left alive in Israel’s territory. But a few were left alive in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.