1 When 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,
2 and to the kings in the northern hill country, in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor to the west,
3 to the Canaanites in the east and west, to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country, and to the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
4 They came out with all their troops, a vast army, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore, with a great number of horses and chariots.
5 All these kings joined forces and came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will lay them all dead before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."
7 So Joshua and his whole army came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom and attacked them,
8 and the LORD handed them over to Israel. They struck them down and chased them as far as Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the Valley of Mizpeh on the east, striking them down until no survivors were left.
9 Joshua dealt with them as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
10 Then Joshua turned back, captured Hazor, and put its king to the sword. Hazor had once been the leading city of all these kingdoms.
11 They put everyone in it to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed was left alive, and he set Hazor on fire.
12 Joshua captured all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.
13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned.
14 The children of Israel took for themselves all the spoil and livestock of these cities, but they put every person to the sword until they had wiped them out, leaving no one alive that breathed.
15 What the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua carried it out. He left nothing undone of all the LORD had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel with its lowland,
17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death.
18 For a long time Joshua waged war against all these kings.
19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made peace with the children of Israel; they took them all in battle.
20 For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts to meet Israel in battle, so that they would be devoted to destruction without mercy and be wiped out, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them and their cities to destruction.
22 No Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did some survive.
23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had told Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel, divided among their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.