The <sc>Lordsc> handed Lachish over to Israel and they<n id="1" /> captured it on the second day. They put the sword to all who lived there, just as they had done to Libnah.

<p class="bodytext">Joshua defeated the whole land, including the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands,<n id="1" /> the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivors. He annihilated everything that breathed, just as the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel had commanded.

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> told Joshua, &#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn<n id="1" /> their chariots.&#8221;

The <sc>Lordsc> handed them over to Israel and they struck them down and chased them all the way to Greater Sidon,<n id="1" /> Misrephoth Maim,<n id="2" /> and the Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained.

<p class="bodytext">Joshua captured all these royal cities and all their kings and annihilated them with the sword,<n id="1" /> as Moses the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s servant had commanded.

Joshua conquered<n id="1" /> the whole land, just as the <sc>Lordsc> had promised Moses,<n id="2" /> and he assigned Israel their tribal portions.<n id="3" /> Then the land was free of war.p>

I was forty years old when Moses, the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report.<n id="1" />

That day Moses made this solemn promise:<n id="1" /> &#8216;Surely the land on which you walked<n id="2" /> will belong to you and your descendants permanently,<n id="3" /> for you remained loyal to the <sc>Lordsc> your God.&#8217;

So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day<n id="1" /> because he remained loyal to the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel.

<p class="bodytext">Caleb son of Jephunneh was assigned Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron) within the tribe of Judah, according to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s instructions to Joshua. (Arba was the father of Anak.)<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, &#8220;Why have you assigned us only one tribal allotment? After all, we have many people, for until now the <sc>Lordsc> has enabled us to increase in number.&#8221;<n id="1" />

So Joshua said to the Israelites: &#8220;How long do you intend to put off occupying<n id="1" /> the land the <sc>Lordsc> God of your ancestors<n id="2" /> has given you?

<p class="bodytext">When the men started out, Joshua told those going to map out the land, &#8220;Go, walk through the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you before the <sc>Lordsc> here in Shiloh.&#8221;

As the <sc>Lordsc> had instructed, they gave him the city he requested &#8211; Timnath Serah in the Ephraimite hill country. He built up the city and lived in it.p>

<p class="bodytext">These are the land assignments which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders<n id="1" /> made by drawing lots in Shiloh before the <sc>Lordsc> at the entrance of the tent of meeting.<n id="2" /> So they finished dividing up the land.p>

We said, &#8216;If in the future they say such a thing<n id="1" /> to us or to our descendants, we will reply, &#8220;See the model of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s altar that our ancestors<n id="2" /> made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.&#8221;&#8217;<n id="3" />

Joshua told all the people, &#8220;Here is what the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel says: &#8216;In the distant past your ancestors<n id="1" /> lived beyond the Euphrates River,<n id="2" /> including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped<n id="3" /> other gods,

Your fathers<n id="1" /> cried out for help to the <sc>Lordsc>; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark,<n id="2" /> and then drowned them in the sea.<n id="3" /> You witnessed with your very own eyes<n id="4" /> what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time.<n id="5" />

For the <sc>Lordsc> our God took us and our fathers out of slavery<n id="1" /> in the land of Egypt<n id="2" /> and performed these awesome miracles<n id="3" /> before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">Joshua warned<n id="1" /> the people, &#8220;You will not keep worshiping<n id="2" /> the <sc>Lordsc>, for<n id="3" /> he is a holy God.<n id="4" /> He is a jealous God who will not forgive<n id="5" /> your rebellion or your sins.