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Joshua Launches a Southern Campaign

28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho.

29 Joshua and all Israel marched from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against it.[a] 30 The Lord handed it and its king over to Israel, and Israel[b] put the sword to all who lived there; they[c] left no survivors. They did to its king what they had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Joshua and all Israel marched from Libnah to Lachish. He deployed his troops[d] and fought against it. 32 The Lord handed Lachish over to Israel, and they[e] captured it on the second day. They put the sword to all who lived there, just as they had done to Libnah. 33 Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down, as well as his army,[f] until no survivors remained.

34 Joshua and all Israel marched from Lachish to Eglon. They deployed troops[g] and fought against it. 35 That day they captured it and put the sword to all who lived there. That day they[h] annihilated it just as they had done to Lachish.

36 Joshua and all Israel marched up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it. 37 They captured it and put the sword to its king, all its surrounding cities, and all who lived in it; they[i] left no survivors. As they had done at Eglon, they annihilated it and all who lived there.

38 Joshua and all Israel turned to Debir and fought against it. 39 They[j] captured it, its king, and all its surrounding cities and put the sword to them. They annihilated everyone who lived there; they[k] left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king what they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.[l]

40 Joshua defeated the whole land, including the hill country, the Negev,[m] the foothills,[n] the slopes,[o] and all their kings. He left no survivors. He annihilated everything that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua conquered the area between Kadesh Barnea and Gaza and the whole region of Goshen, all the way to Gibeon.[p] 42 Joshua captured in one campaign[q] all these kings and their lands, for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 10:29 tn Heb “Libnah.” Repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style, so the pronoun (“it”) has been employed in the translation.
  2. Joshua 10:30 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
  3. Joshua 10:30 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army). So also for “They did to its king” and “they had done.”
  4. Joshua 10:31 tn Heb “encamped against it.”
  5. Joshua 10:32 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
  6. Joshua 10:33 tn Heb “people.”
  7. Joshua 10:34 tn Heb “they encamped against it.”
  8. Joshua 10:35 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army). So also for “they had done to Lachish.”
  9. Joshua 10:37 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army). So also for “they had done” and “they annihilated.”
  10. Joshua 10:39 tn Heb “He”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
  11. Joshua 10:39 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army). So also for “They did to Debir” and “they had done to Libnah.”
  12. Joshua 10:39 tn Heb “as he did to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, and as he did to Libnah and its king.” The clauses have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  13. Joshua 10:40 sn The Negev is an area of central southern Judah, south of the hill country and west of the rift valley. As a geographic feature it is a depression extending south to the Gulf of Aqabah, but the biblical reference is probably to the northern portion of the region.
  14. Joshua 10:40 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the transition region from the hill country to the Mediterranean coastal plains.
  15. Joshua 10:40 sn In contrast to the foothills on the western side of the hill country, the slopes are on the eastern side leading down to the rift valley of the Dead Sea and Jordan river.
  16. Joshua 10:41 tn Heb “and Joshua struck them down, from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, even to Gibeon.”
  17. Joshua 10:42 tn Heb “at one time.”

The Southern Campaign

28 Joshua captured Makkedah that very day, and attacked both it and its king with swords, utterly destroying it along with every person in it, leaving no survivors. He dealt with the king of Makkedah the same way he had dealt with the king of Jericho.

29 Afterward, Joshua and all of Israel passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, where they fought against Libnah. 30 The Lord gave both it and its king into the control of Israel, and Joshua[a] executed both its king[b] and every person in it with swords, leaving no survivors. He dealt with the king the same way he had dealt with the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all of Israel passed from Libnah to Lachish, camped near it, and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into the control of Israel, and Joshua captured it the next day. He declared war on the city and executed[c] everyone in it, the same way he had treated Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of Gezer appeared to help Lachish. So Joshua attacked him and his army, until he left no one remaining. 34 After this, Joshua, accompanied by all of Israel, proceeded from Lachish to Eglon, laid siege to it, and attacked it. 35 They captured it on that day, attacking it in battle. Then Joshua completely destroyed it that day, the same way he had dealt with Lachish.

36 Then Joshua, accompanied by all of Israel, left Eglon for Hebron, where they attacked it, 37 captured it, and executed its inhabitants—its king, all of its cities, and every person in it, leaving no one remaining, the same way he had dealt with Eglon. He completely destroyed it, along with everyone in it.

38 Then Joshua returned, accompanied by the entire fighting force of[d] Israel, to Debir, where they attacked it, 39 captured it, its king, and all of its villages. They executed them, totally destroying it and everyone in it, leaving no one remaining. He dealt with Debir and its king just as he had dealt with Hebron, treating them the same way he had dealt with Libnah and its king.

40 So Joshua conquered the entire land, the hill country, the Negev,[e] the Shephelah,[f] and the wilderness highlands, along with all of their kings. He left none of them remaining, but completely destroyed every living person, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua conquered them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, including the entire territory of Goshen as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua conquered all of these kings and their territories in one campaign, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal, along with the entire fighting force of[g] Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 10:30 Lit. he
  2. Joshua 10:30 Lit. both him
  3. Joshua 10:32 Lit. He struck it with the edge of the sword and
  4. Joshua 10:38 The Heb. lacks fighting force of
  5. Joshua 10:40 I.e. the southern region of Israel
  6. Joshua 10:40 I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel; and so throughout the book
  7. Joshua 10:43 The Heb. lacks fighting force of