Joshua 11:1-23
Northern Kings Defeated
1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph, 2 and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; 3 to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. 4 They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 5 All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”
7 So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, 8 and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. 9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.) 11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed, and he burned Hazor itself.
12 Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. 15 As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and put them to death. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.
23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
King Jabin of Hazor heard about everything that had happened...So he decided to call together the armies of several kings...He sent a message to King Jobab of Madon to the king of Shimron, to the king of Akshaph, and to the kings of the north in the hill country and in the desert...Jabin sent the message to the kings of the Kinnereth, the Negev, and the western foothills...He also sent the message to the king of Naphoth Dor in the west...Jabin sent the message to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west...He sent the message to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites living in the hill country...He also sent the message to the Hivites living below Mount Hermon near Mizpah...So the armies of all these kings came together...There were many fighting men and many horses and chariots...It was a very large army—it looked as if there were as many men as grains of sand on the seashore...All these kings met together at the small river of Merom...They joined their armies together into one camp and made plans for the battle against Israel...
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of that army, because I will allow you to defeat them...By this time tomorrow, you will have killed them all...You will cut the legs of the horses and burn all their chariots.”...So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy and attacked them at the river of Merom...The LORD allowed Israel to defeat them...The army of Israel defeated them and chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Valley of Mizpah in the east...The army of Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive...Joshua did what the LORD said to do; he cut the legs of their horses and burned their chariots...Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor and killed its king...(Hazor was the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.)...The army of Israel killed everyone in that city and completely destroyed all the people...There was nothing left alive...Then they burned the city...
Joshua captured all these cities and killed all their kings...He completely destroyed everything in these cities—just as Moses, the LORD’s servant, had commanded...But the army of Israel did not burn any cities that were built on hills...The only city built on a hill that they burned was Hazor...This is the city Joshua burned...The Israelites kept for themselves all the things and all the animals they found in the cities...But they killed all the people there...They left no one alive...Long ago the LORD commanded His servant Moses to do this...Then Moses commanded Joshua to do this...So Joshua obeyed God...He did everything that the LORD had commanded Moses...
So Joshua defeated all the people in that whole area...He had control over the hill country, the Negev, all the area of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, and the mountains of Israel and all the hills near them...Joshua had control of all the land from Mount Halak near Seir to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon...He captured all the kings in that land and killed them...Joshua fought against them for many years...Only one city in all the land made a peace agreement with Israel...That was the Hivite city of Gibeon...All the other cities were defeated in war...The LORD made those people feel brave enough to fight against Israel...This was so that Israel could destroy them completely without mercy just as the LORD had commanded Moses to do...
The Anakites lived in the hill country in the area of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and Judah...Joshua fought them and completely destroyed all the people and their towns...There were no Anakites left living in the land of Israel...The only Anakites who were left alive were in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod...Joshua took control of the whole land of Israel as the LORD had told Moses long ago...The LORD gave that land to Israel as He promised...And Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel...Finally, the fighting ended and there was peace in the land...Joshua had reached the Promised Land of God...