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¹ It happened, when Yavin king of Hatzor heard of it, that he sent to Yovav king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Akhshaf, ² and to the kings who were on the north, in the hill-country, and in the `Aravah south of Kinnarot, and in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, <sup>3</sup> to the Kana`ani on the east and on the west, and the Amori, and the Hittite, and the Perizzi, and the Yevusi in the hill-country, and the Hivvi under Hermon in the land of Mitzpah. ⁴ They went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. ⁵ All these kings met together; and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Yisra'el. ⁶ The LORD said to Yehoshua, Don't be afraid because of them; for tomorrow at this time will I deliver them up all slain before Yisra'el: you shall hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. ⁷ So Yehoshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, and fell on them. ⁸ The LORD delivered them into the hand of Yisra'el, and they struck them, and chased them to great Tzidon, and to Misrefot-Mayim, and to the valley of Mitzpeh eastward; and they struck them, until they left them none remaining. ⁹ Yehoshua did to them as the LORD bade him: he hamstrung their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

¹⁰ Yehoshua turned back at that time, and took Hatzor, and struck the king of it with the sword: for Hatzor before was the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹ They struck all the souls who were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was none left who breathed: and he burnt Hatzor with fire. ¹² All the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Yehoshua take, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them; as Moshe the servant of the LORD commanded. ¹³ But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Yisra'el burned none of them, save Hatzor only; that did Yehoshua burn. ¹⁴ All the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Yisra'el took for a prey to themselves; but every man they struck with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any who breathed.

¹⁵ As the LORD commanded Moshe his servant, so did Moshe command Yehoshua: and so did Yehoshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moshe. ¹⁶ So Yehoshua took all that land, the hill-country, and all the South, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland, and the `Aravah, and the hill-country of Yisra'el, and the lowland of the same; <sup>17</sup> from Mount Halak, that goes up to Se`ir, even to Ba`al-Gad in the valley of Levanon under Mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and struck them, and put them to death. <sup>18</sup> Yehoshua made war a long time with all those kings. <sup>19</sup> There was not a city that made shalom with the children of Yisra'el, save the Hivvi the inhabitants of Giv`on: they took all in battle. ²⁰ For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to come against Yisra'el in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moshe. ²¹ Yehoshua came at that time, and cut off the `Anakim from the hill-country, from Hevron, from Devir, from `Anav, and from all the hill-country of Yehudah, and from all the hill-country of Yisra'el: Yehoshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. ²² There was none of the `Anakim left in the land of the children of Yisra'el: only in `Aza, in Gat, and in Ashdod, did some remain. ²³ So Yehoshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD spoke to Moshe; and Yehoshua gave it for an inheritance to Yisra'el according to their divisions by their tribes. The land had rest from war.