1And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, 3And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. 4And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. 5And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.11.5 met…: Heb. assembled by appointment
6¶ And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. 7So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them. 8And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.11.8 great Zidon: or, Zidonrabbah11.8 Misrephoth-maim: or, Salt pits: Heb. Burnings of waters 9And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
10¶ And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms. 11And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.11.11 any…: Heb. any breath 12And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. 13But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.11.13 in their…: Heb. on their heap 14And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.
15¶ As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.11.15 left…: Heb. removed nothing 16So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; 17Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.11.17 the mount…: or, the smooth mountain 18Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
21¶ And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. 22There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. 23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
Josva besejrer kongerne mod nord
1Da kong Jabin af Hatzor hørte, hvad der var sket, sendte han bud til følgende konger: kong Jobab af Madon, kongen af Shimron, kongen af Akshaf, 2kongerne i højlandet mod nord, kongerne i Jordandalen syd for Kinneret søen,11,2 Søen, der i dag er mest kendt som Genesaret sø. kongerne på de vestlige bakkeskråninger, kongerne på højdedragene i Dor mod vest. 3Det var alle kongerne mod øst og vest blandt kana’anæerne, altså amoritterne, hittitterne og perizzitterne, jebusitterne i højlandet og hivvitterne ved Hermonbjergets fod i Mitzpadalen.
4-5Alle disse konger allierede sig og mobiliserede deres hære. Deres krigere var talløse som sandet ved havets bred, og deres heste og stridsvogne dækkede hele området omkring Meroms kilder, hvor de havde slået lejr inden angrebet på israelitterne.
6Men Herren sagde til Josva: „Vær ikke bange for dem, for i morgen ved denne tid ligger de alle dræbt for jeres fødder. I skal brænde deres vogne og skære haserne over på deres heste.”
7Da rykkede Josva og hans mænd frem mod Meroms kilder og stormede i et lynangreb de intetanende fjender. 8Herren overgav hele fjendens hær til israelitterne, der forfulgte dem op til Storsidon og Misrefot-Majim—og østpå ind i Mitzpadalen. Hele fjendens hær blev hugget ned. Ikke en eneste blev skånet. 9Bagefter skar Josva og hans mænd hestenes haser over og brændte vognene, sådan som Herren havde befalet.
10På tilbagevejen indtog Josva byen Hatzor og dræbte kongen. Hatzor havde indtil da været hovedbyen for alle disse mindre kongeriger. 11Israelitterne udryddede alt levende i byen, og så blev byen brændt ned.
12Josva dræbte alle disse konger og deres folk, sådan som Herrens tjener Moses havde befalet. 13Dog nedbrændte han ingen af de byer, som var bygget på ruinerne af en tidligere by, bortset fra Hatzor, 14men han udslettede indbyggerne og beholdt krigsbyttet og kvæget, 15sådan som Herren havde befalet sin tjener Moses, og Moses havde befalet Josva. Josva gjorde nøjagtigt, som Herren havde befalet Moses.
Erobringen af Kana’an fuldføres
16Josva havde nu indtaget hele Kana’ans land: højlandet, Negev området, Goshens land,11,16 Ikke Goshen i Egypten. skråningerne mod vest, Jordandalen, Israels højland og lavland. 17-18Israelitternes territorium strakte sig nu mod syd indtil Halakbjerget ved Seir og mod nord op til Ba’al-Gad i Libanon dalen ved foden af Hermonbjerget. Det tog Josva lang tid at underlægge sig hele dette område og udrydde samtlige konger i landet. 19Ingen af dem sluttede fred med israelitterne bortset fra hivvitterne i Gibeon. Alle de andre folk blev udslettet. 20Herren havde nemlig forhærdet alle disse konger, så de hellere ville gå i kamp mod Israel end forsøge at slutte fred. De blev alle dræbt uden skånsel, sådan som Herren havde befalet Moses.
21I den periode udryddede Josva alle kæmperne i landet—Anaks efterkommere, der boede rundt omkring i det sydlige og nordlige højland, især omkring Hebron, Debir og Anab. Alle blev dræbt, og deres byer blev ødelagt. 22Der var ikke en eneste anakit tilbage i Israel, og kun nogle ganske få i Gaza, Gat og Ashdod.
23Josva indtog således hele landet, sådan som Herren havde befalet Moses, og han fordelte jorden mellem Israels stammer, så de hver fik deres arvelod. Derefter var der endelig fred og ro i landet.
