¹⁶ In those towns that the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing.

¹⁴ And the Israelites took all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged towns for themselves. But they killed all the people, leaving no survivors.

² Then the people of Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy^[a] all their towns.” ³ The Lord heard the Israelites’ request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah^[b] ever since.

¹⁷ Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed^[a] as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.

¹⁸ “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. ¹⁹ Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”

²⁰ When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. ²¹ They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

The Privilege of Holiness

7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. ² When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy^[a] them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. ³ You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, ⁴ for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.

⁵² you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines.

¹¹ The Israelites completely destroyed^[a] every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.

¹² Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.

⁴⁰ So Joshua conquered the whole region—the kings and people of the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills,^[a] and the mountain slopes. He completely destroyed everyone in the land, leaving no survivors, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.

Israel Destroys the Southern Towns

²⁸ That same day Joshua captured and destroyed the town of Makkedah. He killed everyone in it, including the king, leaving no survivors. He destroyed them all, and he killed the king of Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho.

¹⁶ “You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you.