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JOSHUA 12
page 203
of Shimron; the king of Acshaph; 2 all the kings
of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee*; the kings in the
Galilean foothills*; the kings of Naphoth-dor on
the west; 3 the kings of Canaan, both east and
west; the kings of the Amorites, the Hittites, the
Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and
the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount
Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
4 All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all
their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. 5 The kings
joined forces and established their camp around
the water near Merom to fight against Israel.
6 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be
afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will
hand all of them over to Israel as dead men.
Then you must cripple their horses and burn
their chariots.”
7 So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled
to the water near Merom and attacked suddenly. 8 And the Lord gave them victory over
their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far
as Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and
eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not
one enemy warrior was left alive. 9 Then Joshua
crippled the horses and burned all the chariots,
as the Lord had instructed.
10 Joshua then turned back and captured
Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one
time been the capital of all these kingdoms.)
11 The Israelites completely destroyed* every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not
a single person was spared. And then Joshua
burned the city.
12 Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and
their people, completely destroying them, just
as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 13 But the Israelites did not burn any
of the towns built on mounds except Hazor,
which Joshua burned. 14 And the Israelites took
all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged
towns for themselves. But they killed all the
people, leaving no survivors. 15 As the Lord had
commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told,
carefully obeying all the commands that the
Lord had given to Moses.
16 So Joshua conquered the entire region—
the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole
area around the town of Goshen, the western
foothills, the Jordan Valley,* the mountains of
Israel, and the Galilean foothills. 17 The Israelite
territory now extended all the way from Mount
11:2a Hebrew in the Arabah south of Kinnereth. 11:2b Hebrew
the Shephelah; also in 11:16. 11:11 The Hebrew term used
here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to
the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an
offering; also in 11:12, 20, 21. 11:16 Hebrew the Shephelah,
the Arabah. 12:1 Hebrew the Arabah; also in 12:3, 8.
12:3 Hebrew from the Sea of Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah,
which is the Salt Sea.
Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as
far north as Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all
the kings of those territories, 18 waging war for
a long time to accomplish this. 19 No one in this
region made peace with the Israelites except the
Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated.
20 For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused
them to fight the Israelites. So they were completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord
had commanded Moses.
21 During this period Joshua destroyed all the
descendants of Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill
country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all
and completely destroyed their towns. 22 None
of the descendants of Anak were left in all the
land of Israel, though some still remained in
Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.
23 So Joshua took control of the entire land,
just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave
it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the
land finally had rest from war.
Kings Defeated East of the Jordan
These are the kings east of the Jordan
River who had been killed by the Israelites and whose land was taken. Their territory
extended from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon and included all the land east of the Jordan
Valley.*
2 King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in
Heshbon, was defeated. His kingdom included
Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and
extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge
to the Jabbok River, which serves as a border
for the Ammonites. This territory included the
southern half of the territory of Gilead. 3 Sihon
also controlled the Jordan Valley and regions to
the east—from as far north as the Sea of Galilee
to as far south as the Dead Sea,* including the
road to Beth-jeshimoth and southward to the
slopes of Pisgah.
4 King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaites,
lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei. 5 He ruled a territory stretching from Mount Hermon to Salecah
in the north and to all of Bashan in the east,
and westward to the borders of the kingdoms of
Geshur and Maacah. This territory included the
northern half of Gilead, as far as the boundary
of King Sihon of Heshbon.
6 Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites had destroyed the people of King Sihon
and King Og. And Moses gave their land as a
possession to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh.
12
Kings Defeated West of the Jordan
7 The following is a list of the kings that Joshua
and the Israelite armies defeated on the west