Joshua 11

1 When King Jabin of Hazor [city] heard [about all those things that had happened], he sent messages to Jobab, the king of Madon [city], to the king of Shimron [city], and to the king of Acshaph [city], [requesting them to send their armies to come and help him fight against the Israelis].

And when Jabin, the king of Hazor, had heard these things, he sent to Jobab, the king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,

2 He also sent messages to the kings in the northern hilly area and to the kings in the Jordan [River] Valley, south of Galilee [Lake] and in the western hills. He sent a message to the king of Naphoth-Dor [in the west]

also to the kings of the north, who were living in the mountains, and in the plains opposite the southern region of Chinneroth, and also in the plains and the regions of Dor, beside the sea,

3 and to the kings of the Canaan people-group in the eastern and western parts of the land. He sent messages to the Amor people-group and the Heth people-group and the Periz people-group and the Jebus people-group who lived in the hilly area. He also sent a message to the Hiv people-group who lived below Hermon [Mountain] in the Mizpah area.

also to the Canaanites, from east to west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, also to the Hivite who was living at the base of Hermon, in the land of Mizpah.

4 So the armies of all those kings gathered together, bringing their horses and chariots. [There seemed to be] [HYP] as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore.

And they all went forth with their troops, a people exceedingly numerous, like the sand that is on the shore of the sea. And their horses and chariots were an immense multitude.

5 All of those kings [and their armies] gathered together at Merom Pond, [and they set up their tents there]. Then they made plans to fight against the Israelis.

And all these kings assembled at the waters of Merom, so that they might fight against Israel.

6 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will enable your men to defeat them. Your men must also cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”

And the Lord said to Joshua: “You should not fear them. For tomorrow, at this same hour, I will deliver all these to be wounded in the sight of Israel. You will hamstring their horses, and you will burn their chariots with fire.”

7 So Joshua and his army traveled to Merom Pond and attacked their enemies (by surprise/before they were ready to fight).

And Joshua, and the entire army with him, came against them suddenly, at the waters of Merom, and they rushed upon them.

8 Yahweh enabled the Israelis to defeat them. They pursued them to Sidon [city in the far north], and to Misrephoth-Maim [in the northwest], and to Mizpah Valley in the northeast. The Israelis fought them until (they were all dead/there were no survivors).

And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Israel. And they struck them, and they pursued them as far as the great Sidon, and the waters of Misrephoth, and the field of Mizpeh, which is toward the eastern region. He struck them all, so that nothing was left of them to remain.

9 Then Joshua and his men did what Yahweh told them to do: They crippled their enemies’ horses and burned their chariots.

And he did just as the Lord had instructed him. He hamstrung their horses, and he burned their chariots with fire.

10 The king of Hazor had ruled the people of all the kingdoms whose armies had fought against the Israelis. So Joshua’s army went back to Hazor and captured that city and killed their king.

And turning back, he immediately seized Hazor. And he struck down its king with the sword. For Hazor, from antiquity, held the first position among all these kingdoms.

11 They killed everyone in Hazor; (they did not spare anyone/no one was left alive) [DOU]. Then they burned the city.

And he struck down all the souls that were staying there. He did not leave in it any remains, but he destroyed everything unto utter annihilation, and he destroyed the city itself with fire.

12 Joshua’s army captured all of those cities and killed all of their kings. They did that like Moses, the man who served Yahweh [well], had commanded them to do.

And he seized, struck, and destroyed all the surrounding cities and their kings, just as Moses, the servant of God, had instructed him.

13 Joshua’s men burned Hazor [city], but they did not burn any of the other cities that were built on small hills.

And except for the cities that were on hills and in elevated places, the rest Israel burned. One only, highly-fortified Hazor, was consumed with fire.

14 The Israelis took for themselves the animals that they found in those cities and everything else [that was valuable] [DOU]. But they killed all the people.

And the sons of Israel divided among themselves all the plunder of these cities, and the cattle, putting to death all persons.

15 [Many years before], Yahweh had told Moses to do that, and then Moses told Joshua to do it. So Joshua did everything that Yahweh had commanded Moses to do.

Just as the Lord had instructed his servant Moses, so did Moses instruct Joshua, and he fulfilled everything. He did not omit even one word out of all the commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 Joshua’s [army] defeated all the people who were living in that land. They took control over the hilly area and the area in the southern part of Canaan, all the area of Goshen, the western foothills, and the Jordan [River] Valley. They took control over all the mountains in Israel and all the hills near the mountains.

And so Joshua seized the entire land of the mountains, and of the south, and the land of Goshen, and the plains, and the western region, and the mountain of Israel, and its plains.

17 They took control of all the land from Halak Mountain [in the south] up to the Seir [hilly area] as far as Baal-Gaal in Lebanon Valley [in the north], at the bottom of Hermon Mountain. They captured all the kings of those areas and killed them.

As for the part of the mountain that ascends to Seir, as far as Baalgad, along the plain of Lebanon under mount Hermon, all their kings he seized, struck down, and killed.

18 Joshua’s men fought against those groups for many years.

For a long time, Joshua fought against these kings.

19 There was only one group that made a peace agreement with the Israelis; they were the people of the Hiv people-group who lived in Gibeon. The Israelis captured all the other towns in battles.

There was not a city that delivered itself to the sons of Israel, except the Hivites who were living at Gibeon. For he seized it all in warfare.

20 Yahweh caused the people in all those other groups to be stubborn [IDM], with the result that they fought against the Israeli army, and the Israelis killed them all. They were not merciful to any of them. That is what Yahweh had commanded Moses to do.

For it was the sentence of the Lord that their hearts would be hardened, and that they would fight against Israel and fall, and that they did not deserve any clemency, and that they should perish, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

21 Joshua’s army also fought the Anak people-group who lived in the hills near Hebron, Debir, and Anah [cities]. They also fought against the people who lived in the hilly area of Judah and Israel, and they killed all of those people and destroyed their cities.

In that time, Joshua went and put to death the Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron and Debir and Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah and Israel. And he destroyed their cities.

22 As a result, there were no descendants of Anak who remained alive in Israel. Only a few remained alive in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod [cities].

He did not leave any from the stock of the Anakim in the land of the sons of Israel, except the cities of Gaza, and Gath, and Ashdod, which alone were left behind.

23 Joshua’s army took control of all the land, just as Yahweh [long ago] had told Moses to do. Yahweh gave the land to the Israelis, because he had promised to give it to them. Then Joshua divided the land among the Israeli tribes. After that, there was (peace/no more battles) in the land.

Thus, Joshua seized all the land, just as the Lord spoke to Moses, and he delivered it as a possession to the sons of Israel, according to their divisions and tribes. And the land rested from battles.