Add parallel Print Page Options

Jericho Taken and Destroyed

Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out, and no one went in. The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers.(A) You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets.(B) When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.” So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” To the people he said, “Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”(C)

As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually.(D) 10 To the people Joshua gave this command: “You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord went around the city, circling it once, and they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually.(E) 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

15 On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent.(F) 18 As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet[a] and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it.(G) 19 But all silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it.(H) 21 Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.(I)

22 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.”(J) 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Rahab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her—they brought all her kindred out—and set them outside the camp of Israel.(K) 24 They burned down the city and everything in it; only the silver and gold and the vessels of bronze and iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.(L) 25 But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family[b] has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.(M)

26 Joshua then pronounced this oath, saying,

“Cursed before the Lord be anyone who tries
    to build this city, Jericho!
At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation,
    and at the cost of his youngest he shall set up its gates!”(N)

27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.(O)

The Sin of Achan and Its Punishment

But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things, and the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.(P)

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Not all the people need go up; about two or three thousand men should go up and attack Ai. Since they are so few, do not make the whole people toil up there.” So about three thousand of the people went up there, and they fled before the men of Ai.(Q) The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, chasing them from outside the gate as far as Shebarim and killing them on the slope. The hearts of the people melted and turned to water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads.(R) Joshua said, “Ah, Lord God! Why have you brought this people across the Jordan at all, to hand us over to the Amorites so as to destroy us? Would that we had been content to settle beyond the Jordan!(S) O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned their backs to their enemies! The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and surround us and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will you do for your great name?”(T)

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings.(U) 12 Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs to their enemies because they have become a thing devoted for destruction themselves. I will be with you no more unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Proceed to sanctify the people and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: There are devoted things among you, O Israel; you will be unable to stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.(V) 14 In the morning, therefore, you shall come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord takes shall come near by clans, the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households, and the household that the Lord takes shall come near one by one. 15 And the one who is taken as having the devoted things shall be burned with fire, together with all that he has, for having transgressed the covenant of the Lord and for having done an outrageous thing in Israel.’ ”(W)

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 He brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken, and he brought near the clan of the Zerahites by households,[c] and Zabdi was taken.(X) 18 And he brought near his household one by one, and Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”(Y) 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “It is true; I am the one who sinned against the Lord God of Israel. This is what I did:(Z) 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. They now lie hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 They took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and they spread them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, with his sons and daughters, with his oxen, donkeys, and sheep, and his tent and all that he had, and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.(AA) 25 Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord is bringing trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him to death; they burned them with fire, cast stones on them,(AB) 26 and raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place to this day is called the Valley of Achor.[d](AC)

Ai Captured by a Stratagem and Destroyed

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear or be dismayed; take all the fighting men with you, and go up to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city, and his land.(AD) You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may take its spoil and plunder its livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city, behind it.”(AE)

So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to go up against Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand warriors and sent them out by night with the command, “You shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it; do not go very far from the city, but all of you stay alert.(AF) I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us, as before, we will flee from them. They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we flee from them, you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand. And when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, doing as the Lord has ordered; see, I have commanded you.”(AG) So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but Joshua spent that night with the people.[e]

10 In the morning Joshua rose early and mustered the people and went up, with the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.(AH) 11 All the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 Taking about five thousand men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city, and Joshua went that night into the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the inhabitants of the city, hurried out early in the morning to the meeting place facing the Arabah to meet Israel in battle, but he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.(AI) 15 And Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. 16 So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. 17 There was not a man left in Ai[f] who did not go out after Israel; they left the city open and pursued Israel.

18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand toward the city.(AJ) 19 As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly out of their place and rushed forward. They entered the city, took it, and at once set the city on fire.(AK) 20 So when the men of Ai looked back, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky. They had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 And the other Israelites came out from the city against them, so they were surrounded by Israelites, some on one side and some on the other, and Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped.(AL) 23 But the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and when all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and attacked it with the edge of the sword. 25 The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand—all the people of Ai.(AM) 26 For Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the sword until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.(AN) 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel plundered for themselves, according to the word of the Lord that he had issued to Joshua.(AO) 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day.(AP) 29 And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, threw it down at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.(AQ)

Joshua Renews the Covenant

30 [g]Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel,(AR) 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, “an altar of unhewn[h] stones, on which no iron tool has been used,” and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed offerings of well-being.(AS) 32 And there, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua[i] wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses that he had written.(AT) 33 All Israel, alien as well as native-born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded earlier, that they should bless the people of Israel.(AU) 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law.(AV) 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who resided among them.(AW)

The Gibeonites Save Themselves by Trickery

Now when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—heard of this,(AX) they gathered together with one accord to fight Joshua and Israel.

But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,(AY) they on their part acted with cunning: they went and prepared provisions[j] and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and wineskins, worn out and torn and mended, with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet and worn-out clothes, and all their provisions were dry and moldy. They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the Israelites, “We have come from a far country, so now make a treaty with us.”(AZ) But the Israelites said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a treaty with you?”(BA) They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”(BB) They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of the Lord your God, for we have heard a report of him, of all that he did in Egypt(BC) 10 and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth.(BD) 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey; go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; come now, make a treaty with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread; it was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey, on the day we set out to come to you, but now, see, it is dry and moldy; 13 these wineskins were new when we filled them, and see, they are burst, and these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the leaders[k] partook of their provisions and did not ask direction from the Lord.(BE) 15 And Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.(BF)

16 But when three days had passed after they had made a treaty with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and were living among them. 17 So the Israelites set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.(BG) 18 But the Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders.(BH) 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we must not touch them. 20 This is what we will do to them: we will let them live, so that wrath may not come upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the leaders had decided concerning them.(BI)

22 Joshua summoned them and said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ while in fact you are living among us?(BJ) 23 Now, therefore, you are cursed, and some of you shall always be slaves, woodcutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.”(BK) 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, so we were in great fear for our lives because of you and did this thing.(BL) 25 And now we are in your hand: do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.”(BM) 26 This is what he did for them: he saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 But on that day Joshua made them woodcutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to continue to this day, in the place that he should choose.(BN)

The Sun Stands Still

10 When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,(BO) he[l] became greatly frightened, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, and was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent a message to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon, saying, “Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.”(BP) Then the five kings of the Amorites—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and camped against Gibeon and made war against it.(BQ)

And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us.” So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you.”(BR) So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who inflicted a crushing blow on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.(BS) 11 As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.(BT)

12 On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
    and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”(BU)
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped
    until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in midheaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.(BV) 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice, for the Lord fought for Israel.(BW)

15 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.(BX)

Five Kings Defeated

16 Meanwhile, these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.(BY) 17 And it was told Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not let them enter their towns, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great blow on them, until they were wiped out, and when the survivors had entered into the fortified towns,(BZ) 21 all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah; no one dared to speak[m] against any of the Israelites.(CA)

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.”(CB) 23 They did so and brought the five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the Israelites and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks.(CC) 25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.”(CD) 26 Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.(CE) 27 At sunset Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves; they set large stones against the mouth of the cave that remain to this very day.(CF)

28 Joshua took Makkedah on that day and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.(CG)

29 Then Joshua passed on from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah and fought against Libnah.(CH) 30 The Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel, and he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left no one remaining in it, and he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Next Joshua passed on from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish and laid siege to it and assaulted it.(CI) 32 The Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

33 Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people, leaving him no survivors.

34 From Lachish Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon, and they laid siege to it and assaulted it, 35 and they took it that day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it he utterly destroyed that day, as he had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua went up with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron; they assaulted it(CJ) 37 and took it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns and every person in it; he left no one remaining, just as he had done to Eglon, and utterly destroyed it with every person in it.

38 Then Joshua, with all Israel, turned back to Debir and assaulted it,(CK) 39 and he took it with its king and all its towns; they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed every person in it; he left no one remaining; just as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.

40 So Joshua defeated the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings; he left no one remaining but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded.(CL) 41 And Joshua defeated them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon.(CM) 42 Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.(CN) 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

The United Kings of Northern Canaan Defeated

11 When King Jabin of Hazor heard of this, he sent to King Jobab of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,(CO) and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west,(CP) to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. They came out, with all their troops, a great army, in number like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.(CQ) All these kings joined their forces and came and camped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will hand over all of them, slain, to Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”(CR) So Joshua came suddenly upon them with all his fighting force, by the waters of Merom, and fell upon them. And the Lord handed them over to Israel, who attacked them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and eastward as far as the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down until they had left no one remaining.(CS) And Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.(CT)

10 Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor and struck its king down with the sword. Before that time Hazor was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they put to the sword all who were in it, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed, and he burned Hazor with fire.(CU) 12 And all the towns of those kings and all their kings, Joshua took and struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But Israel burned none of the towns that stood on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua did burn. 14 All the spoil of these towns and the livestock the Israelites plundered for themselves, but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed.(CV) 15 As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.(CW)

Summary of Joshua’s Conquests

16 So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland,(CX) 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death.(CY) 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a town that made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; all were taken in battle.(CZ) 20 For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed and might receive no mercy but be exterminated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(DA)

21 At that time Joshua came and wiped out 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 utterly destroyed them with their towns.(DB) 22 None of the Anakim was left in the land of the Israelites; some remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.(DC)

The Kings Conquered by Moses

12 Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites defeated, whose land they occupied beyond the Jordan toward the east, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward:(DD) King Sihon of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, and from the middle of the valley as far as the Wadi Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead,(DE) and the Arabah to the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea,[n] southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;(DF) and King Og[o] of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei(DG) and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of King Sihon of Heshbon.(DH) Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites defeated them, and Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(DI)

The Kings Conquered by Joshua

The following are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments,(DJ) in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):(DK)

the king of Jerichoone
the king of Ai, which is next to Bethelone(DL)
10 the king of Jerusalemone
the king of Hebronone
11 the king of Jarmuthone
the king of Lachishone
12 the king of Eglonone
the king of Gezerone(DM)
13 the king of Debirone
the king of Gederone(DN)
14 the king of Hormahone
the king of Aradone
15 the king of Libnahone
the king of Adullamone
16 the king of Makkedahone
the king of Bethelone
17 the king of Tappuahone
the king of Hepherone
18 the king of Aphekone
the king of Lasharonone
19 the king of Madonone
the king of Hazorone
20 the king of Shimron-meronone
the king of Achshaphone
21 the king of Taanachone
the king of Megiddoone
22 the king of Kedeshone
the king of Jokneam in Carmelone
23 the king of Dor in Naphath-dorone
the king of Goiim in Galilee,[p]one
24 the king of Tirzahone

thirty-one kings in all.(DO)

Footnotes

  1. 6.18 Gk: Heb devote to destruction
  2. 6.25 Heb She
  3. 7.17 Heb mss Syr: MT one by one
  4. 7.26 That is, trouble
  5. 8.9 Heb among the people
  6. 8.17 Gk: Heb adds or Bethel
  7. 8.30 Q ms places 8.30–35 before 5.1
  8. 8.31 Heb whole
  9. 8.32 Heb he
  10. 9.4 Heb mss Gk Syr: Meaning of MT uncertain
  11. 9.14 Gk: Heb men
  12. 10.2 Heb ms Syr ms Vg: MT they
  13. 10.21 Heb moved his tongue
  14. 12.3 Heb Salt Sea
  15. 12.4 Gk: Heb the boundary of King Og
  16. 12.23 Gk: Heb Gilgal

Now the gates of Jericho(A) were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered(B) Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns(C) in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.(D) When you hear them sound a long blast(E) on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout;(F) then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.”(G) And he ordered the army, “Advance(H)! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark(I) of the Lord.”

When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard(J) followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!(K) 11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the ark of the Lord and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets kept sounding. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

15 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times.(L) 16 The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!(M) 17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[a](N) to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute(O) and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid(P) the spies we sent. 18 But keep away from the devoted things,(Q) so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction(R) and bring trouble(S) on it. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron(T) are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

20 When the trumpets sounded,(U) the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout,(V) the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.(W) 21 They devoted(X) the city to the Lord and destroyed(Y) with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.

22 Joshua said to the two men(Z) who had spied out(AA) the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.(AB) 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her.(AC) They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.

24 Then they burned the whole city(AD) and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron(AE) into the treasury of the Lord’s house.(AF) 25 But Joshua spared(AG) Rahab the prostitute,(AH) with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho(AI)—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

26 At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath:(AJ) “Cursed(AK) before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho:

“At the cost of his firstborn son
    he will lay its foundations;
at the cost of his youngest
    he will set up its gates.”(AL)

27 So the Lord was with Joshua,(AM) and his fame spread(AN) throughout the land.

Achan’s Sin

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things[b];(AO) Achan(AP) son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[c] the son of Zerah,(AQ) of the tribe of Judah,(AR) took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned(AS) against Israel.(AT)

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai,(AU) which is near Beth Aven(AV) to the east of Bethel,(AW) and told them, “Go up and spy out(AX) the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai,(AY) who killed about thirty-six(AZ) of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear(BA) and became like water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes(BB) and fell facedown(BC) to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening.(BD) The elders of Israel(BE) did the same, and sprinkled dust(BF) on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why(BG) did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?(BH) If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth.(BI) What then will you do for your own great name?(BJ)

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned;(BK) they have violated my covenant,(BL) which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,(BM) they have put them with their own possessions.(BN) 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies;(BO) they turn their backs(BP) and run(BQ) because they have been made liable to destruction.(BR) I will not be with you anymore(BS) unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves(BT) in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

14 “‘In the morning, present(BU) yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses(BV) shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things(BW) shall be destroyed by fire,(BX) along with all that belongs to him.(BY) He has violated the covenant(BZ) of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”(CA)

16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen.(CB) He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah,(CC) was chosen.(CD)

19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory(CE) to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell(CF) me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder(CG) a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[d] two hundred shekels[e] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[f] I coveted(CH) them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord.

24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons(CI) and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.(CJ) 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble(CK) on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”

Then all Israel stoned him,(CL) and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them.(CM) 26 Over Achan they heaped(CN) up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day.(CO) Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger.(CP) Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor[g](CQ) ever since.

Ai Destroyed

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid;(CR) do not be discouraged.(CS) Take the whole army(CT) with you, and go up and attack Ai.(CU) For I have delivered(CV) into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder(CW) and livestock for yourselves.(CX) Set an ambush(CY) behind the city.”

So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand.(CZ) When you have taken the city, set it on fire.(DA) Do what the Lord has commanded.(DB) See to it; you have my orders.”

Then Joshua sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush(DC) and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai—but Joshua spent that night with the people.

10 Early the next morning(DD) Joshua mustered his army, and he and the leaders of Israel(DE) marched before them to Ai. 11 The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the city. 12 Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So the soldiers took up their positions—with the main camp to the north of the city and the ambush to the west of it. That night Joshua went into the valley.

14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle at a certain place overlooking the Arabah.(DF) But he did not know(DG) that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. 15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be driven back(DH) before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.(DI) 16 All the men of Ai were called to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were lured away(DJ) from the city. 17 Not a man remained in Ai or Bethel who did not go after Israel. They left the city open and went in pursuit of Israel.

18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin(DK) that is in your hand,(DL) for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand.(DM) 19 As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly(DN) from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.(DO)

20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky,(DP) but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around(DQ) and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives.(DR) 23 But they took the king of Ai alive(DS) and brought him to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai.(DT) 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin(DU) until he had destroyed[h](DV) all who lived in Ai.(DW) 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.(DX)

28 So Joshua burned(DY) Ai[i](DZ) and made it a permanent heap of ruins,(EA) a desolate place to this day.(EB) 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset,(EC) Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks(ED) over it, which remains to this day.

The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal

30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal(EE) an altar(EF) to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool(EG) had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.(EH) 32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses.(EI) 33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical(EJ) priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born(EK) were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal,(EL) as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.(EM) 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.(EN)

The Gibeonite Deception

Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country,(EO) in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea(EP) as far as Lebanon(EQ) (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,(ER) Hivites(ES) and Jebusites)(ET) they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

However, when the people of Gibeon(EU) heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,(EV) they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded[j] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal(EW) and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country;(EX) make a treaty(EY) with us.”

The Israelites said to the Hivites,(EZ) “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty(FA) with you?”

“We are your servants,(FB)” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country(FC) because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports(FD) of him: all that he did in Egypt,(FE) 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon,(FF) and Og king of Bashan,(FG) who reigned in Ashtaroth.(FH) 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”

14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire(FI) of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace(FJ) with them to let them live,(FK) and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near(FL) them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth(FM) and Kiriath Jearim.(FN) 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath(FO) to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled(FP) against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath(FQ) we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live,(FR) but let them be woodcutters and water carriers(FS) in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.

22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way(FT) from you,’ while actually you live near(FU) us? 23 You are now under a curse:(FV) You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told(FW) how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands.(FX) Do to us whatever seems good and right(FY) to you.”

26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites(FZ) woodcutters and water carriers(GA) for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose.(GB) And that is what they are to this day.

The Sun Stands Still

10 Now Adoni-Zedek(GC) king of Jerusalem(GD) heard that Joshua had taken Ai(GE) and totally destroyed[k](GF) it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon(GG) had made a treaty of peace(GH) with Israel and had become their allies. He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron,(GI) Piram king of Jarmuth,(GJ) Japhia king of Lachish(GK) and Debir(GL) king of Eglon.(GM) “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace(GN) with Joshua and the Israelites.”

Then the five kings(GO) of the Amorites(GP)—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:(GQ) “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army,(GR) including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid(GS) of them; I have given them into your hand.(GT) Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”(GU)

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(GV) before Israel,(GW) so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon.(GX) Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon(GY) and cut them down all the way to Azekah(GZ) and Makkedah.(HA) 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones(HB) down on them,(HC) and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(HD) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(HE)
13 So the sun stood still,(HF)
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on[l] its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.(HG)

The sun stopped(HH) in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting(HI) for Israel!

15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.(HJ)

Five Amorite Kings Killed

16 Now the five kings had fled(HK) and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, “Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. 19 But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”

20 So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely,(HL) but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities.(HM) 21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.

22 Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. 24 When they had brought these kings(HN) to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet(HO) on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet(HP) on their necks.

25 Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.(HQ) This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” 26 Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.

27 At sunset(HR) Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.(HS)

Southern Cities Conquered

28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors.(HT) And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.(HU)

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah(HV) and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish;(HW) he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer(HX) had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.

34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon;(HY) they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron(HZ) and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone(IA) in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.

38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir.(IB) 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.(IC)

40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev,(ID) the western foothills and the mountain slopes,(IE) together with all their kings.(IF) He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.(IG) 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea(IH) to Gaza(II) and from the whole region of Goshen(IJ) to Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought(IK) for Israel.

43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.(IL)

Northern Kings Defeated

11 When Jabin(IM) king of Hazor(IN) heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron(IO) and Akshaph,(IP) and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah(IQ) south of Kinnereth,(IR) in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor(IS) on the west; to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites(IT) and Jebusites in the hill country;(IU) and to the Hivites(IV) below Hermon(IW) in the region of Mizpah.(IX) They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.(IY) All these kings joined forces(IZ) and made camp together at the Waters of Merom(JA) to fight against Israel.

The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand(JB) all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring(JC) their horses and burn their chariots.”(JD)

So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon,(JE) to Misrephoth Maim,(JF) and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword.(JG) (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.) 11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed[m] them,(JH) not sparing anyone that breathed,(JI) and he burned(JJ) Hazor itself.

12 Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.(JK) 13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed.(JL) 15 As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.(JM)

16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country,(JN) all the Negev,(JO) the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills,(JP) the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir,(JQ) to Baal Gad(JR) in the Valley of Lebanon(JS) below Mount Hermon.(JT) He captured all their kings and put them to death.(JU) 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 Except for the Hivites(JV) living in Gibeon,(JW) not one city made a treaty of peace(JX) with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts(JY) to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.(JZ)

21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites(KA) from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir(KB) and Anab,(KC) from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza,(KD) Gath(KE) and Ashdod(KF) did any survive.

23 So Joshua took the entire land,(KG) just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance(KH) to Israel according to their tribal divisions.(KI) Then the land had rest(KJ) from war.(KK)

List of Defeated Kings

12 These are the kings of the land whom the Israelites had defeated and whose territory they took(KL) over east of the Jordan,(KM) from the Arnon(KN) Gorge to Mount Hermon,(KO) including all the eastern side of the Arabah:(KP)

Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.(KQ)

He ruled from Aroer(KR) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge—from the middle of the gorge—to the Jabbok River,(KS) which is the border of the Ammonites.(KT) This included half of Gilead.(KU) He also ruled over the eastern Arabah from the Sea of Galilee[n](KV) to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea(KW)), to Beth Jeshimoth,(KX) and then southward below the slopes of Pisgah.(KY)

And the territory of Og king of Bashan,(KZ) one of the last of the Rephaites,(LA) who reigned in Ashtaroth(LB) and Edrei.

He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salekah,(LC) all of Bashan(LD) to the border of the people of Geshur(LE) and Maakah,(LF) and half of Gilead(LG) to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites conquered them.(LH) And Moses the servant of the Lord gave their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to be their possession.(LI)

Here is a list of the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon(LJ) to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their lands as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their tribal divisions. The lands included the hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the wilderness and the Negev.(LK) These were the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. These were the kings:(LL)

the king of Jericho(LM)one
the king of Ai(LN) (near Bethel(LO))one
10 the king of Jerusalem(LP)one
the king of Hebronone
11 the king of Jarmuthone
the king of Lachish(LQ)one
12 the king of Eglon(LR)one
the king of Gezer(LS)one
13 the king of Debir(LT)one
the king of Gederone
14 the king of Hormah(LU)one
the king of Arad(LV)one
15 the king of Libnah(LW)one
the king of Adullam(LX)one
16 the king of Makkedah(LY)one
the king of Bethel(LZ)one
17 the king of Tappuah(MA)one
the king of Hepher(MB)one
18 the king of Aphek(MC)one
the king of Lasharonone
19 the king of Madonone
the king of Hazor(MD)one
20 the king of Shimron Meronone
the king of Akshaph(ME)one
21 the king of Taanach(MF)one
the king of Megiddo(MG)one
22 the king of Kedesh(MH)one
the king of Jokneam(MI) in Carmel(MJ)one
23 the king of Dor (in Naphoth Dor(MK))one
the king of Goyim in Gilgalone
24 the king of Tirzah(ML)one
thirty-one kings in all.(MM)

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 6:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 18 and 21.
  2. Joshua 7:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 11, 12, 13 and 15.
  3. Joshua 7:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 2:6; Hebrew Zabdi; also in verses 17 and 18.
  4. Joshua 7:21 Hebrew Shinar
  5. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
  6. Joshua 7:21 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  7. Joshua 7:26 Achor means trouble.
  8. Joshua 8:26 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  9. Joshua 8:28 Ai means the ruin.
  10. Joshua 9:4 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) They prepared provisions and loaded their donkeys
  11. Joshua 10:1 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 28, 35, 37, 39 and 40.
  12. Joshua 10:13 Or nation triumphed over
  13. Joshua 11:11 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 12, 20 and 21.
  14. Joshua 12:3 Hebrew Kinnereth