Conquering the North

11 Now when Jabin king of Hazor heard about it, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the kings in the north, in the hill country, in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, in the lowland and in the regions of Dor to the west, ³ the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. ⁴ So they came out, they and all their armies with them, a multitude with as many people as the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵ All these kings joined forces, came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight with Israel.

⁶ But Adonai said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” ⁷ So Joshua and all the people of war with him attacked them suddenly at the waters of Merom and fell upon them. ⁸ Then Adonai gave them into the hand of Israel, so they defeated them and chased them as far as Great Zidon and Misrephoth-maim, and up to the Valley of Mizpeh eastward. They struck them down until they left them no survivors. ⁹ Joshua did to them as Adonai had instructed him—he hamstrung their horses and burnt their chariots with fire.

¹⁰ At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, because Hazor had formerly been the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹ They struck down every single soul in it with the edge of the sword, putting them to the ban. There was none left that breathed after he burned Hazor with fire. ¹² Thus Joshua captured all the cities of those kings and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, putting them to the ban, just as Moses the servant of Adonai had commanded. ¹³ But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel did not burn any of them, except Hazor alone, which Joshua did burn. ¹⁴ All the spoil of these cities and the cattle, Bnei-Yisrael took as their booty, but they struck down every person with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, not sparing anyone who breathed.

¹⁵ Just as Adonai had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that Adonai had commanded Moses. ¹⁶ So Joshua captured all this land: the hill country, the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland, ¹⁷ from the Mount Halak^[a] that ascends to Seir all the way to Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, struck them down and put them to death. ¹⁸ For a long time Joshua made war with all those kings. ¹⁹ There was not a city that made peace with Bnei-Yisrael except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon. All the rest they took in battle. ²⁰ For it was of Adonai to harden their hearts to encounter Israel in battle, that they might be put to the ban, that they might receive no mercy, in order to destroy them as Adonai had commanded Moses.

²¹ At that time Joshua went and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from the entire hill country of Judah and from the entire hill country of Israel. Joshua put a ban on them with their cities. ²² There was none of the Anakim left in the land of Bnei-Yisrael, except some were left in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

²³ So Joshua captured the whole country, according to all that Adonai had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.