¹⁶ But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive.^(A)

¹⁴ All the spoil of these towns and the livestock the Israelites plundered for themselves, but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed.^(A)

² Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.” ³ The Lord listened to the voice of Israel and handed over the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah.^[a]

¹⁷ The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent.^{(A) 18} As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet^[a] and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it.^{(B) 19} But all silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron are sacred 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 trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.^{(C) 21} Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.^(D)

A Chosen People

7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you^(A)— ² and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy.^{(B) 3} Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,^{(C) 4} for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.^(D)

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

¹¹ And they put to the sword all who were in it, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed, and he burned Hazor with fire.^{(A) 12} And all the towns of those kings and all their kings, Joshua took and struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.

⁴⁰ So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings; he left no one remaining but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded.^(A)

²⁸ Joshua took Makkedah on that day and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.^(A)

¹⁶ You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.^(A)