Joshua 11
New Living Translation
Israel Defeats the Northern Armies
11 When King Jabin of Hazor heard what had happened, he sent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Acshaph; 2 all the kings of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee[a]; the kings in the Galilean foothills[b]; the kings of Naphoth-dor on the west; 3 the kings of Canaan, both east and west; the kings of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
4 All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. 5 The kings joined forces and established their camp around the water near Merom to fight against Israel.
6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”
7 So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled to the water near Merom and attacked suddenly. 8 And the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was left alive. 9 Then Joshua crippled the horses and burned all the chariots, as the Lord had instructed.
10 Joshua then turned back and captured Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of all these kingdoms.) 11 The Israelites completely destroyed[c] 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. 13 But the Israelites did not burn any of the towns built on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 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. 15 As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.
16 So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole area around the town of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley,[d] the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills. 17 The Israelite territory now extended all the way from Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as far north as Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all the kings of those territories, 18 waging war for a long time to accomplish this. 19 No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated. 20 For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns. 22 None of the descendants of Anak were left in all the land of Israel, though some still remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.
23 So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.
Footnotes
- 11:2a Hebrew in the Arabah south of Kinnereth.
- 11:2b Hebrew the Shephelah; also in 11:16.
- 11:11 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in 11:12, 20, 21.
- 11:16 Hebrew the Shephelah, the Arabah.
Joshua 11
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
11 And when Jabin king of Asor had heard these things, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Semeron, and to the king of Achsaph:
2 And to the kings of the north, that dwelt in the mountains and in the plains over against the south side of Ceneroth, and in the levels and the countries of Dor by the sea side:
3 To the Chanaanites also on the ease and on the west, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Jebusite in the mountains: to the Hevite also who dwelt at the foot of Hermon in the land of Maspha.
4 And they all came out with their troops, a people exceeding numerous as the sand that is on the sea shore, their horses also and chariots a very great multitude,
5 And all these kings assembled together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
6 And the Lord said to Josue: Fear them not: for to morrow at this same hour I will deliver all these to be slain in the sight of Israel: thou shalt hamstring their horses, and thou shalt burn their chariots with fire.
7 And Josue came, and all the army with him, against them to the waters of Merom on a sudden, and fell upon them.
8 And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Israel. And they defeated them, and chased them as far as the great Sidon, and the waters of Maserophot, and the field of Masphe, which is on the east side thereof. He slew them all, so as to leave no remains of them:
9 And he did as the Lord had commanded him, he hamstringed their horses and burned their chariots.
10 And presently turning back he took Asor: and slew the king thereof with the sword. Now Asor of old was the head of all these kingdoms.
11 And he cut off all the souls that abode there: he left not in it any remains, but utterly destroyed all, and burned the city itself with fire.
12 And he took and put to the sword and destroyed all the cities round about, and their kings, as Moses the servant of God had commanded him.
13 Except the cities that were on hills and high places, the rest Israel burned: only Asor that was very strong he consumed with fire.
14 And the children of Israel divided among themselves all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, killing all the men.
15 As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Josue, and he accomplished all: he left not one thing undone of all the commandments which the Lord had commanded Moses.
16 So Josue took all the country of the hills, and of the south, and the land of Gosen, and the plains and the west country, and the mountain of Israel, and the plains thereof:
17 And part of the mountain that goeth up to Seir as far as Baalgad, by the plain of Libanus under mount Hermon: all their kings he took, smote and slew.
18 Josue made war a long time against these kings.
19 There was hot a city that delivered itself to the children of Israel, except the Hevite, who dwelt in Gabaon: for he took all by fight.
20 For it was the sentence of the Lord, that their hearts should be hardened, and they should fight against Israel, and fall, and should not deserve any clemency, and should be destroyed as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 At that time Josue came and cut off the Enacims from the mountains, from Hebron, and Dabir, and Anab, and from all the mountain of Juda and Israel, and destroyed their cities.
22 He left not any of the stock of the Enacims, in the land of the children of Israel: except the cities of Gaza, and Geth, and Azotus, in which alone they were left.
23 So Josue took all the land, as the Lord spoke to Moses, and delivered it in possession to the children of Israel, according to their divisions and tribes. And the land rested from wars.
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