Joshua 11

1 And it came to pass, that, when Yabin the king of Chazor heard these things, he sent to Yobab the king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,

When King Jabin of Hazor [city] heard [about all those things that had happened], he sent messages to Jobab, the king of Madon [city], to the king of Shimron [city], and to the king of Acshaph [city], [requesting them to send their armies to come and help him fight against the Israelis].

2 And to the kings that were at the north, on the mountains, and in the plains, south of Kinneroth, and in the lowlands, and in the district of Dor on the west,

He also sent messages to the kings in the northern hilly area and to the kings in the Jordan [River] Valley, south of Galilee [Lake] and in the western hills. He sent a message to the king of Naphoth-Dor [in the west]

3 To the Canaanites on the east and on the west, and to the Emorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the mountains, and to the Hivites under Chermon in the land of Mizpah.

and to the kings of the Canaan people-group in the eastern and western parts of the land. He sent messages to the Amor people-group and the Heth people-group and the Periz people-group and the Jebus people-group who lived in the hilly area. He also sent a message to the Hiv people-group who lived below Hermon [Mountain] in the Mizpah area.

4 And they went out, they and all their camps with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, and with very many horses and chariots.

So the armies of all those kings gathered together, bringing their horses and chariots. [There seemed to be] [HYP] as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore.

5 And all these kings assembled themselves together, and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

All of those kings [and their armies] gathered together at Merom Pond, [and they set up their tents there]. Then they made plans to fight against the Israelis.

6 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them; for tomorrow about this time will I give all of them up slain before Israel: their horses shalt thou hamstring and their chariots shalt thou burn with fire.

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will enable your men to defeat them. Your men must also cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”

7 And Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.

So Joshua and his army traveled to Merom Pond and attacked their enemies (by surprise/before they were ready to fight).

8 And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and pursued them unto great Zidon, and unto Missrephoth-mayim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none that escaped.

Yahweh enabled the Israelis to defeat them. They pursued them to Sidon [city in the far north], and to Misrephoth-Maim [in the northwest], and to Mizpah Valley in the northeast. The Israelis fought them until (they were all dead/there were no survivors).

9 And Joshua did unto them as the Lord had said unto him: their horses he hamstringed and their chariots he burnt with fire.

Then Joshua and his men did what Yahweh told them to do: They crippled their enemies’ horses and burned their chariots.

10 And Joshua at that time turned back, and captured Chazor, and its kings he smote with the sword; for Chazor aforetimes was the head of all these kingdoms.

The king of Hazor had ruled the people of all the kingdoms whose armies had fought against the Israelis. So Joshua’s army went back to Hazor and captured that city and killed their king.

11 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, and devoted them; there was not left any one having breath; and Chazor he burnt with fire.

They killed everyone in Hazor; (they did not spare anyone/no one was left alive) [DOU]. Then they burned the city.

12 And all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, did Joshua capture, and he smote them with the edge of the sword, and he devoted them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.

Joshua’s army captured all of those cities and killed all of their kings. They did that like Moses, the man who served Yahweh [well], had commanded them to do.

13 But as for the cities that had been left standing in their strength, these did Israel not burn: save Chazor only did Joshua burn.

Joshua’s men burned Hazor [city], but they did not burn any of the other cities that were built on small hills.

14 And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, did the children of Israel take as booty unto themselves; but all the men they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them: they left not any one having breath.

The Israelis took for themselves the animals that they found in those cities and everything else [that was valuable] [DOU]. But they killed all the people.

15 As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua: he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

[Many years before], Yahweh had told Moses to do that, and then Moses told Joshua to do it. So Joshua did everything that Yahweh had commanded Moses to do.

16 And Joshua took all that land, the mountain, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowlands, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and its lowlands;

Joshua’s [army] defeated all the people who were living in that land. They took control over the hilly area and the area in the southern part of Canaan, all the area of Goshen, the western foothills, and the Jordan [River] Valley. They took control over all the mountains in Israel and all the hills near the mountains.

17 From the bald mountain that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Chermon; and all their kings he captured, and smote them, and slew them.

They took control of all the land from Halak Mountain [in the south] up to the Seir [hilly area] as far as Baal-Gaal in Lebanon Valley [in the north], at the bottom of Hermon Mountain. They captured all the kings of those areas and killed them.

18 A long time did Joshua make war with all these kings.

Joshua’s men fought against those groups for many years.

19 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gib'on: the whole they took by war.

There was only one group that made a peace agreement with the Israelis; they were the people of the Hiv people-group who lived in Gibeon. The Israelis captured all the other towns in battles.

20 For of the Lord it was to harden their heart, that they should come against Israel in battle, in order to destroy them utterly, that they might obtain no favor: but in order that he might exterminate them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Yahweh caused the people in all those other groups to be stubborn [IDM], with the result that they fought against the Israeli army, and the Israelis killed them all. They were not merciful to any of them. That is what Yahweh had commanded Moses to do.

21 And Joshua came at that time, and cut off the 'Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from 'Anab, and from the whole mountain of Judah, and from the whole mountain of Israel: with their cities did Joshua destroy them utterly.

Joshua’s army also fought the Anak people-group who lived in the hills near Hebron, Debir, and Anah [cities]. They also fought against the people who lived in the hilly area of Judah and Israel, and they killed all of those people and destroyed their cities.

22 There was none of the 'Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gazzah, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained some.

As a result, there were no descendants of Anak who remained alive in Israel. Only a few remained alive in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod [cities].

23 And Joshua' took the whole land, all just as the Lord had spoken unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

Joshua’s army took control of all the land, just as Yahweh [long ago] had told Moses to do. Yahweh gave the land to the Israelis, because he had promised to give it to them. Then Joshua divided the land among the Israeli tribes. After that, there was (peace/no more battles) in the land.