¹⁶ But ^(A)in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes,

¹⁴ And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed.

^2 (A)And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”^{[a] 3} And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called ^(B)Hormah.^[b]

¹⁷ And the city and all that is within it shall be ^(A)devoted to the Lord for destruction.^[a] Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she ^(B)hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel ^(C)a thing for destruction and ^(D)bring trouble upon it. ¹⁹ But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and ^(E)the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. ²¹ Then they ^(F)devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

A Chosen People

7 “When the ^(A)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, ^(B)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations ^(C)more numerous and mightier than you, ^2 (D)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must ^(E)devote them to complete destruction.^{[a] (F)}You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ^3 (G)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. ^(H)Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you ^(I)quickly.

⁵² then ^(A)you shall drive out ^(B)all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their ^(C)figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.

¹¹ And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;^{[a] (A)}there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. ¹² And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, ^(B)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.

⁴⁰ So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland ^(A)and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, ^(B)but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded.

²⁸ As for ^(A)Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah ^(B)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.