Then they set fire to the city and burned it to the ground, along with everything in it, except the things made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which they took and put in the LORD's treasury.

Then the Israelites made a vow to the LORD: "If you will let us conquer these people, we will unconditionally dedicate them and their cities to you and will destroy them."

The LORD heard them and helped them conquer the Canaanites. So the Israelites completely destroyed them and their cities, and named the place Hormah.

At this time Joshua issued a solemn warning: "Anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho will be under the LORD's curse. Whoever lays the foundation will lose his oldest son; Whoever builds the gates will lose his youngest."

Joshua burned Ai and left it in ruins. It is still like that today.

The LORD said, "Damascus will not be a city any longer; it will be only a pile of ruins.

You have turned cities into ruins and destroyed their fortifications. The palaces which our enemies built are gone forever.

But the time is coming when I will make the people of the capital city of Rabbah hear the noise of battle, and it will be left in ruins and its villages burned to the ground. Then Israel will take its land back from those who took it from them.

So the LORD says, "I will make Samaria a pile of ruins in the open country, a place for planting grapevines. I will pour the rubble of the city down into the valley, and will lay bare the city's foundations.