1When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard about this, he sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,
2and to the kings in the north, in the hill country, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills, and in the highlands of Dor to the west.
3to the Canaanites on the east and west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
4They marched out with all their armies, a great number of people, as many as the sand on the seashore, with many horses and chariots.
5All these kings met together and camped by the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow, I will deliver all of them to be killed by Israel. You are to cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”
7So Joshua and all his warriors suddenly attacked them by the waters of Merom.
8Yahweh gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them all the way to Great Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Valley of Mizpah to the east. They struck them until no one was left alive.
9Joshua did to them exactly as Yahweh had told him: he crippled their horses and burned their chariots.
10At that time, Joshua turned back, captured Hazor, and struck its king with his sword, because Hazor had been the leader of all those kingdoms.
11They killed everyone in Hazor with the sword, completely destroying them. No one was left alive. Then Joshua burned Hazor with fire.
12Joshua captured all the cities of these kings along with their kings, and he killed them with his sword, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of Yahweh, had commanded.
13But Israel did not burn any of the cities that were built on mounds, except for Hazor, which Joshua burned.
14The people of Israel took all the valuables from these cities, and the livestock, as plunder for themselves. But they killed every person with their swords until they had destroyed them. They didn’t leave anyone alive.
15Just as Yahweh had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did everything. He did not fail to do anything that Yahweh had commanded Moses.
16So Joshua took control of all that land: the hill country, all of the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel, and its lowland.
17from Mount Halak, which goes up to Seir, all the way to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death.
18Joshua fought a long war with all those kings.
19No city made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites who lived in Gibeon. They took all the rest in battle.
20For it was Yahweh’s plan to make them stubborn so they would fight against Israel, so that Israel could completely destroy them, and they would receive no mercy, but be destroyed, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
21At that time, Joshua went and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them and their cities.
22No Anakim were left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did some remain.
23So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as Yahweh had told Moses. Joshua then divided it among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance. After this, the land had peace from war.