Conquests in Northern Canaan

11 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he (A)sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the (B)Arabah south of (C)Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and (D)in Naphoth-dor on the (E)west, to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the (F)Jebusites in the hill country, and the (G)Hivites under (H)Hermon in the land of (I)Mizpah. And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number (J)like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

And the Lord said to Joshua, (K)“Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall (L)hamstring their horses and burn their (M)chariots with fire.” So Joshua and all his warriors came (N)suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as (O)Great Sidon and (P)Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of (Q)Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. And Joshua did to them (R)just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured (S)Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;[a] (T)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, (U)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 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. 15 (V)Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, (W)so Moses commanded Joshua, (X)and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua took all that land, (Y)the hill country and all the Negeb and (Z)all the land of Goshen (AA)and the lowland (AB)and the Arabah (AC)and the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 (AD)from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as (AE)Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below (AF)Mount Hermon. And he captured (AG)all their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war (AH)a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except (AI)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord's doing (AJ)to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, (AK)just as the Lord commanded Moses.

21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off (AL)the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, (AM)in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, (AN)according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. (AO)And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel (AP)according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 11:11 That is, setting apart (devoting) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 12, 20, 21

Conquest of Northern Cities

11 When Jabin king of Hazor heard this news, he sent a message to:

Jobab king of Madon,
the kings of Shimron and Achshaph,
and the kings of the north in the hill country,
the Arabah south of Chinnereth,(A)
the Judean foothills,[a]
and the Slopes of Dor[b] to the west,
the Canaanites in the east and west,
the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites,
and Jebusites in the hill country,
and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon
in the land of Mizpah.(B)

They went out with all their armies—a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore—along with a vast number of horses and chariots. All these kings joined forces; they came together and camped at the waters of Merom to attack Israel.(C)

The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel.(D) You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”(E) So Joshua and his whole military force surprised them at the waters of Merom and attacked them. The Lord handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down, pursuing them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the east as far as the Valley of Mizpeh.[c](F) They struck them down, leaving no survivors. Joshua treated them as the Lord had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned back, captured Hazor, and struck down its king with the sword, because Hazor had formerly been the leader of all these kingdoms. 11 They struck down everyone in it with the sword, completely destroying(G) them; he left no one alive. Then he burned down Hazor.

12 Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and struck them down with the sword. He completely destroyed them, as Moses the Lord’s servant(H) had commanded. 13 However, Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood on their mounds except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive. 15 Just as the Lord had commanded His servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Summary of Conquests

16 So Joshua took all this land—the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen,(I) the foothills,[d] the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel with its foothills[e] 17 from Mount Halak,(J) which ascends to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.(K) 18 Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time. 19 No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon;(L) all of them were taken in battle. 20 For it was the Lord’s intention to harden their hearts, so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

21 At that time Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim(M) from the hill country—Hebron, Debir, Anab—all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities. 22 No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath,(N) and Ashdod.

23 So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.(O)

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 11:2 Or the Shephelah
  2. Joshua 11:2 Or and in Naphoth-dor
  3. Joshua 11:8 = Mizpah; Jos 11:3; 18:26
  4. Joshua 11:16 Or the Shephelah
  5. Joshua 11:16 Or its Shephelah