And this chapter of horrors concludes with this song of victory: "So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and "of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, "and all their kings: he left none remaining, but "utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord "God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote "them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the "country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these "kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, "because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel." Was God, at that time, merciful? 222 I find, also, in the twenty-first chapter that many Icings met, with their armies, for the purpose of overwhelming Israel, and the Lord said unto Joshua: "Be not afraid because of them, for to-morrow about "this time I will deliver them all slain before Israel. "I will hough their horses and burn their chariots "with fire." Were animals so treated by the com- mand of a merciful God? Joshua captured Razor, and smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, there was not one left to breathe; and he took all the cities of all the kings that took up arms against him, and utterly destroyed all the inhabitants thereof. He took the cattle and spoils as prey unto himself, and smote every man with the edge of the sword; and not only so, but left not a human being to breathe. I find the following directions given to the Israel- ites who were waging a war of conquest. They are in the twentieth chapter of Deuteronomy, from the tenth to the eighteenth verses: "When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight "against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it "shall be, if it make thee an answer of peace, and "open unto thee, then it shall be that all the people 223 "that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, "and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no "peace with thee, but will war against thee, then "thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy "God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt "smite every male thereof with the edge of the "sword; but the women, and the little ones, and "the cattle, and all that is in the city, even the spoil "thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou "shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the "Lord thy God hath given thee. Thus shalt thou "do unto all the cities which are very far off from "thee, which are not of the cities of these nations." It will be seen from this that people could take their choice between death and slavery, provided these people lived a good ways from the Israelites. Now, let us see how they were to treat the inhabit- ants of the cities near to them: "But of the cities of these people which the Lord "thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou "shalt save alive nothing that breatheth. But thou "shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, "and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, "the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord thy God "hath commanded thee." 224