Joshua

The Northern Campaign

When Jabin king of Hazor came to know all this, he sent ambassadors to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,

to the kings in the northern mountains, on the lowland to the south of Chinneroth in the plains, and in the heights of Dor on the west,

to the Canaanites in the east and the west, to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the mountains, and the Hivites at the foot of Mount Hermon in the region of Mizpah.

They set out with their troops, a multitude as numerous as the sand of the sea, accompanied by a significant number of horses and chariots ready for combat.

All these kings joined forces and encamped together at the spring of Merom to attack Israel.

Then the Lord told Joshua: “Do not be afraid, for tomorrow at this hour I will give them to you that you may sacrifice them to me. Cut the hocks of their horses and burn their chariots of war.”

So Joshua and all the armed men with him went to Merom and attacked them by surprise.

The Lord gave them into the hand of Israel; the Israelites destroyed and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and as far as Mizpah to the east, without leaving anyone alive.

Joshua also carried out what the Lord had commanded—cutting the hocks of the horses and burning the chariots.

At once, Joshua turned back and conquered Hazor and killed its king. At that time, Hazor was the capital of all those kingdoms.

He put to the sword all the inhabitants of that city, consecrating it in anathema. No one was left alive, and they immediately set the city on fire.

Joshua took all the cities of these kings and all their kings. He struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, according to what Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.

Israel set on fire all the cities except those lying on the slopes and the heights; of these, only Hazor was burned by Joshua.

The Israelites divided among themselves the plunder and the livestock of these cities, but they put to the sword the whole population without sparing anyone.

So what the Lord had commanded Moses, and what Moses had entrusted to Joshua, was completely fulfilled. Joshua did not neglect anything that the Lord had commanded Moses.

So Joshua conquered all this land: the mountains, the Negeb, Goshen, the plains, the lowland, and the mountains of Israel with its plains.

From the region of the mountain range that rises to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon, to the foot of Mount Hermon, he destroyed all their kings—vanquishing and killing them.

The war Joshua waged against these kings lasted a long time.

No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon; all were conquered.

The Lord gave all of them courage to fight against Israel so that in the end, they could be consecrated in anathema and destroyed without pity as the Lord had commanded Moses.

At that time, Joshua returned and wiped out the Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and all the hills of Judah and Israel. They and their cities were given in anathema.

No Anakim was left in the land of Israel except in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

Joshua seized the whole land as the Lord had directed Moses and gave it as an inheritance to the Israelites to be distributed among their tribes. With this, the land rested from war.