Northern Kings Defeated
11 When King Jabin of Hazor heard these things, he sent word to King Jobab of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Akshaph, 2 and the kings of the northern hill country, the Arabah south of Kinnereth, the low country, and the heights of Dor in the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 So these kings went out with all their armies, people as numerous as grains of sand on the seashore, with a large number of horses and chariots. 5 These kings all met and camped together at the waters of Merom in order to wage war against Israel.
6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will make them dead before Israel. Hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”
7 So Joshua and all his fighting forces came upon them by surprise at the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 The Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivor remained. 9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had said. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10 At that time Joshua turned, captured Hazor, and struck down its king with the sword. Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms. 11 They struck all who lived in them with the edge of the sword, destroying them. No one who breathed was left, and he burned Hazor with fire.
12 Joshua captured all these kings and their towns. He struck with the edge of the sword, destroying them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 However, Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood on mounds except Hazor. Joshua burned it. 14 The children of Israel plundered all the goods and the livestock of these cities, but they struck all the people with the edge of the sword until they destroyed them. They did not spare anyone who breathed. 15 As the Lord commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it. He did not ignore a word of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took all that 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 Mount Halak to Seir, and as far as Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley under Mount Hermon: All their kings he captured, struck down, and killed. 18 Joshua engaged all those kings in battle for a long time. 19 There was no city that made peace with the children of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon. They conquered all of them 20 because the Lord hardened their hearts to engage Israel in battle. They destroyed them without mercy, to put them to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 At that time Joshua came and wiped out the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them and their cities. 22 No Anakites were left in the land of the children of Israel, but they did remain in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had said to Moses. Joshua gave it to Israel as an inheritance according to their allotted portions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.