Joshua 11
The full text of Joshua 11 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph,
2 and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west;
3 to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah.
4 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.
5 All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."
7 So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them,
8 and the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left.
9 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. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.)
11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed, and Joshua burned 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.
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.
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.
16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills,
17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and put them to death.
18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time.
19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle.
20 For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, 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, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.
23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
Translation notes (8)
- Joshua 11:6a Hamstringing the horses and burning the chariots disables the enemy's military technology and keeps Israel from relying on such power themselves (compare Deuteronomy 17:16; Psalm 20:7, "some trust in chariots... but we trust in the name of the LORD"). The victory is again presented as belonging to the LORD, not to Israel's strength.
- Joshua 11:11a The phrase "not sparing anyone that breathed" translates the "herem" language, which is "kol neshamah" in Hebrew, meaning "every breathing thing." This refers to the total killing of a city's population, including noncombatants, and is among the gravest moral and theological difficulties in the book. This translation renders the Hebrew as it stands and does not soften, defend, explain away, or condemn it; the questions are left open and are not resolved here.
- Joshua 11:12a The "herem," which is the total killing, is attributed to the command Moses gave (compare Deuteronomy 7:1-2; 20:16-17). See the note at verse 11. This translation does not resolve the moral and theological questions raised.
- Joshua 11:14a The distinction—plunder and livestock were taken, but all people were killed ("not sparing anyone that breathed")—follows the "herem" instruction, which is the total killing, for the cities of the land (Deuteronomy 20:16-17). See the note at verse 11. This translation does not resolve the moral and theological questions.
- Joshua 11:15a The chain of command—from the LORD to Moses, then from Moses to Joshua, with Joshua obeying fully—presents Joshua as the model of complete obedience. The narrative frames the "herem," which is the total killing, as carried out under that command; this translation reports that framing and does not resolve the moral and theological questions it raises.
- Joshua 11:20a This verse attributes the kings' decision to fight—and thus their destruction—to the LORD's hardening of their hearts, using language that parallels the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 9:12; 14:4). The relationship between divine hardening, human responsibility, and the "herem," which is the total killing "without mercy," is among the most severe theological and ethical problems in Scripture. This translation renders the Hebrew exactly as it stands and does not soften, defend, explain away, or condemn it; the questions are explicitly left open and are not resolved here.
- Joshua 11:21a The Anakites, also called Anakim, were a legendary giant clan whose size had terrified the spies a generation earlier (Numbers 13:28-33); their defeat here answers that fear. The "herem," which is the total killing, of these clans is presented as the text describes it and is not resolved by this translation.
- Joshua 11:23a "The land had rest from war" closes the conquest narrative and echoes the promised "rest" mentioned in Deuteronomy 12:9-10; 25:19. This marks the transition from the conquest (chapters 1-12) to the allotment of the land (chapters 13-22).
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Joshua, are free to read on this site.
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