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,[1] 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,[2] 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.
1When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, (Josva 10,3)2and 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, (4.Mos 34,11; 5.Mos 1,1; Josva 3,16; Josva 12,3; Josva 12,23; Josva 13,27; Josva 17,11; Josva 19,35; Dom 1,27)3to 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. (1.Mos 31,49; 5.Mos 3,8; Josva 11,8; Josva 15,63; Dom 3,3)4And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. (1.Mos 22,17; 1.Mos 32,12; Dom 7,12; 1.Sam 13,5)5And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.6And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” (1.Mos 49,6; 5.Mos 20,1; Josva 10,8; Josva 11,9; Josva 17,16; Dom 1,19; Dom 4,3; 2.Sam 8,4; 1.Krøn 18,4)7So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. (Josva 10,9)8And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. (Josva 11,3; Josva 13,6; Josva 19,28)9And Joshua did to them just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire. (Josva 11,6)10And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. (Dom 4,2)11And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;[1] there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. (Josva 10,40)12And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. (5.Mos 20,16)13But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned.14And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed.15Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. (2.Mos 34,11; 5.Mos 7,2; Josva 1,7)16So 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 (Josva 10,41; Josva 11,2; Josva 11,21; Josva 12,8; Josva 15,51)17from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings and struck them and put them to death. (5.Mos 7,24; Josva 11,3; Josva 12,7; Josva 13,5)18Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. (Josva 14,7; Josva 14,10)19There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. (Josva 9,3; Josva 9,7)20For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses. (2.Mos 4,21; 5.Mos 20,16)21And Joshua came at that time and cut off 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 devoted them to destruction with their cities. (4.Mos 13,22; 5.Mos 1,28; Josva 15,13)22There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. (1.Sam 17,4)23So 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. (4.Mos 26,52; 4.Mos 34,2; Josva 12,7; Josva 18,10)