1. King Jabin of Hazor heard about everything that had happened. So he decided to call together the armies of several kings. He sent a message to King Jobab of Madon to the king of Shimron, to the king of Acshaph,
2. and to the kings of the north in the hill country and in the desert. Jabin sent the message to the kings of the Kinnereth, the Negev, and the western foothills. He also sent the message to the king of Naphoth Dor in the west.
3. Jabin sent the message to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent the message to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites living in the hill country. He also sent the message to the Hivites living below Mount Hermon near Mizpah.
4. So the armies of all these kings came together. There were many fighting men and many horses and chariots. It was a very large army—it looked as if there were as many men as grains of sand on the seashore.
5. All these kings met together at the small river of Merom. They joined their armies together into one camp and made plans for the battle against Israel.
6. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of that army, because I will allow you to defeat them. By this time tomorrow, you will have killed them all. You will cut the legs of the horses and burn all their chariots.”
7. So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy and attacked them at the river of Merom.