Defeating Northern Kings
11 When Jabin king of Hazor [C the largest and best fortified of the Canaanite cities] heard about all that had happened, he sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Acshaph. 2 He sent messages to the kings in the northern ·mountains [hill country] and also to the kings in the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah] south of ·Lake Galilee [L Kinnereth] and in the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah]. He sent a message to the king of ·Naphoth [or the heights of] Dor in the west [C the coastal plain south of Mount Carmel] 3 and to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent messages to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the ·mountains [hill country]. Jabin also sent one to the Hivites, who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah [C a coalition of the northern cities of Palestine]. 4 So the armies of all these kings came together with their horses and chariots [C a great challenge to the Israelites, who only had foot soldiers]. There were as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore [Gen. 22:17].
5 All of these kings met together at the waters of Merom [C probably modern Meirun, eight miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee], joined their armies together into one camp, and made plans to fight against the Israelites.
6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will give them to you. You will ·cripple [hamstring] their horses and burn all their chariots.”
7 So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy [10:9] by attacking them at the waters of Merom. 8 The Lord ·handed them over to [L gave them into the hand of] Israel. They chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Valley of Mizpah in the east [C locations north and west of the battle]. Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive. 9 Joshua did what the Lord said to do; he ·crippled [hamstrung] their horses and burned their chariots [C Israel did not take the horses and chariots to use themselves, in order to show their trust in God; Ps. 20:7].
10 Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor and ·killed [L struck with the sword] its king. (Hazor had been the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.) 11 Israel ·killed [L struck with the sword] everyone in Hazor, ·completely destroying them [devoting them to destruction; 2:10; 6:21]; no one was left ·alive [L that breathed]. Then they burned Hazor itself.
12 Joshua captured all of these cities, ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all of their kings, and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; v. 11] everything in these cities. He did this just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 13 But the Israelites did not burn any cities that were built on their mounds [C so Israel could immediately occupy these strategically important cities; Deut. 6:10–11], except Hazor; only that city was burned by Joshua. 14 The ·people [L sons; children] of Israel kept for themselves ·everything [the plunder/spoil] they found in the cities, including all the animals. But they ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all the people there; they left no one ·alive [L that breathed]. 15 Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this, and then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it [Deut. 7:1–6; 20:16–18]. Joshua ·did everything [L left nothing undone that] the Lord had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua defeated all the people in the land [C a general statement, since not every city was taken; 17:16; Judg. 1]. He had control of the mountains and ·the area of southern Canaan [L all the Negev], all the areas of Goshen, the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah], and the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. He controlled the ·mountains [hill country] of Israel and ·all the hills near them [or its lowlands/L Shephelah]. 17 ·Joshua controlled all the land from [L …from] Mount Halak near ·Edom [L Seir] to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. Joshua also captured all the kings in the land and killed them. 18 He ·fought [waged war] against them for ·many years [a long time; L many days]. 19 The people of only one city in all the land had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel—the Hivites living in Gibeon. All the other cities were defeated in war. 20 The Lord ·made those people stubborn [L hardened their hearts; Ex. 8:15] so they would fight against Israel and ·he could completely destroy them [would be devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] without mercy. This is what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.
21 Now Joshua fought the Anakites [or Anakim; Num. 13:33] who lived in the ·mountains [hill country] of Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah, and Israel, and he completely destroyed them and their towns. 22 There were no Anakites left living in the land of the Israelites ·and only a few were left [or though some remained] in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 Joshua took control of all the ·land of Israel [L land] as the Lord had ·told Moses to do [or promised Moses] long ago. He gave the land to Israel, ·because he had promised it to them [L as an inheritance]. ·Then Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel [L …according to their tribal divisions], and ·there was peace in the land [the land had rest from war].