That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho. ¹ 

They captured it and put the sword to its king, all its surrounding cities, and all who lived in it; they ¹  left no survivors. As they ²  had done at Eglon, they ³  annihilated it and all who lived there.

They ¹  captured it, its king, and all its surrounding cities and put the sword to them. They annihilated everyone who lived there; they ²  left no survivors. They ³  did to Debir and its king what they ⁴  had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron. ⁵ 

Joshua defeated the whole land, including the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands, ¹  the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivors. He annihilated everything that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded.

At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country ¹  – from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel. ²  Joshua annihilated them and their cities.

Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!” So no one in the army ate anything.

However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, ¹  and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. ²  They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised ³  and worthless.

“There will be harsh condemnation for the hypocrite who has a valuable male animal in his flock but vows and sacrifices something inferior to the Lord. For I am a great king,” ¹  says the Lord who rules over all, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”

So do not let them persuade you to do this, ¹  because more than forty of them ²  are lying in ambush ³  for him. They ⁴  have bound themselves with an oath ⁵  not to eat or drink anything ⁶  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ⁷ 

They replied, “We could plainly see ¹  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ²  a pact between us ³  – between us ⁴  and you. Allow us to make ⁵  a treaty with you

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹  “Be careful ²  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ³ 

I have ¹  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ²  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ³ 

“‘When a person sins ¹  in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify ²  and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened ³ ) and he does not make it known, ⁴  then he will bear his punishment for iniquity. ⁵ 

So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported ¹  to him the words of Balak.

For there is no spell against ¹  Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel. At this time ²  it must be said ³  of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Look at ⁴  what God has done!’

You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath ¹  along with it. ²  You must absolutely detest ³  and abhor it, ⁴  for it is an object of divine wrath.

You must by all means destroy ¹  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ² 

you must by all means ¹  slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate ²  with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock.

‘Cursed is the one ¹  who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent ²  to the Lord, the work of the craftsman ³  – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ ⁴ 

The Lord handed Lachish over to Israel and they ¹  captured it on the second day. They put the sword to all who lived there, just as they had done to Libnah.