1 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard about what happened, he sent a message* A call to arms. to Jobab, king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph, 2 and to the kings of the northern hill country, the Jordan Valley south of Kinnereth† “Kinnereth”: the Sea of Galilee., the western foothills, and the foothills of Dor to the west, 3 to the kings of the Canaanites, both east and west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites living near Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 All their armies assembled together, a vast horde as numberless as the sand of the seashore, together with many, many horses and chariots. 5 All these kings joined forces and set up camp beside the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Don't be afraid because of them, for by this time tomorrow I myself will hand them all over to Israel, dead. Cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”

7 Joshua and the Israelite army went and attacked them without warning at the waters of Merom. 8 The Lord handed them over to the Israelites who cut them down and chased them as far as Greater Sidon and Misrephoth Maim, and east to the valley of Mizpah, killing them until none were left. 9 Afterwards Joshua did what the Lord had ordered: he crippled the horses and burned the chariots.

10 Then Joshua turned on Hazor. He captured it and killed its king, for Hazor was at that time the chief of all these kingdoms.‡ The king of Hazor had been the leader of the coalition against Israel—see 10:1. 11 Joshua had all the inhabitants killed, leaving no survivors. He set it apart and completely destroyed it—no one was left alive. Then he burned down Hazor.

12 Joshua captured all these towns and killed their kings. He set them apart and completely destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had ordered. 13 However, Israel did not burn any of the towns built on mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua did burn. 14 The Israelites did take for themselves all the plunder and livestock from these towns. But they killed all the inhabitants, destroying them all so none were left alive. 15 As the Lord had instructed Moses, so Moses had instructed Joshua. Joshua did what he had been told—he did everything that the Lord had instructed Moses.

16 So Joshua conquered the whole land—the hill country, the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountains of Israel, and the eastern foothills. 17 This covered land from Mount Halak leading to Seir in the south, right up to Baal Gad in the north, below Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua captured and killed all their kings. 18 Joshua fought a long war with all these kings. 19 Not a single town made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the rest were conquered in battle. 20 For the Lord made them stubborn, wanting to fight the Israelites so that they might be set apart and completely destroyed, wiped out without mercy, as the Lord had instructed Moses.

21 During this time Joshua also annihilated the descendants of Anak§ A race of giants which had terrified the spies originally sent out to the Promised Land. See Numbers 13:28-33. living in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua set apart and completely destroyed their towns, 22 and there were no descendants of Anak left in the land of Israel, only some in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.* Philistine towns on the coastal plain.

23 So Joshua took the entire land in accordance with what the Lord had instructed Moses, giving it to Israel to own as it was divided up among the tribes. Then the land was at peace.† “At peace”: literally, “rested from war.”