Joshua 11

1 And it cometh to pass when Jabin king of Hazor heareth, that he sendeth unto Jobab king of Madon, and unto the king of Shimron, and unto 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 unto the kings who [are] on the north in the hill-country, and in the plain south of Chinneroth, and in the low country, and in the elevations 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 Canaanite on the east, and on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill-country, and the Hivite under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh —

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 go out, they and all their camps with them, a people numerous, as the sand which [is] on the sea-shore for multitude, and horse and charioteer very many;

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 are met together, and they come and encamp together at the waters of Merom, to fight with 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 Jehovah saith unto Joshua, 'Be not afraid of their presence, for to-morrow about this time I am giving all of them wounded before Israel; their horses thou dost hough, and their chariots 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 cometh, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, and they fall on them;

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

8 and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Israel, and they smite them and pursue them unto the great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-Maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward, and they smite them, till he hath not left to them a remnant;

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 doth to them as Jehovah said to him; their horses he hath houghed, and their chariots 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 turneth back at that time, and captureth Hazor, and its king he hath smitten by the sword; for Hazor formerly [is] 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 smite every person who [is] in it by the mouth of the sword; he hath devoted — he hath not left any one breathing, and Hazor he hath 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, hath Joshua captured, and he smiteth them by the mouth of the sword; he devoted them, as Moses, servant of Jehovah, 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 Only, all the cities which are standing by their hill, Israel hath not burned them, save Hazor only, [it] hath Joshua burnt;

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, have the sons of Israel spoiled for themselves; only, every human being they have smitten by the mouth of the sword, till their destroying them; they have not left any one breathing.

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 Jehovah commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so hath Joshua done; he hath not turned aside a thing of all that Jehovah 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 taketh all this land: the hill-country, and all the south, and all the land of Goshen, and the low country, and the plain, even the hill-country of Israel and its low lands,

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 mount of Halak, which is going up [to] Seir, and unto Baal-Gad, in the valley of Lebanon, under mount Hermon; and all their kings he hath captured, and he smiteth them, and putteth them to death.

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 Many days hath Joshua made with all these kings war;

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

19 there hath not been a city which made peace with the sons of Israel save the Hivite, inhabitants of Gibeon; the whole they have taken in battle;

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 from Jehovah it hath been to strengthen their heart, to meet in battle with Israel, in order to devote them, so that they have no grace, but in order to destroy them, as Jehovah 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 cometh at that time, and cutteth off the Anakim from the hill-country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, even from all the hill-country of Judah, and from all the hill-country of Israel; with their cities hath Joshua devoted them.

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 hath not been left Anakim in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, were they left.

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 taketh the whole of the land, according to all that Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses, and Joshua giveth it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions, by their tribes; and the land hath rest 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.