And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

And Joshua did unto them as Jehovah bade him: he hocked their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

And he did as the Lord had commanded him, he hamstringed their horses and burned their chariots.

And Joshua did to them as Jehovah had said to him: he houghed their horses, and burned their chariots with fire.

And Joshua did to them as the LORD bade him: he hamstrung their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

And Joshua did to them as the Lord had said to him; he had the leg-muscles of their horses cut and their war-carriages burned with fire.

And he did just as the Lord had instructed him. He hamstrung their horses, and he burned their chariots with fire.

Fecitque eis Josue quemadmodum dixerat eis Jehova, equos eorum subnervavit, et currus eorum combussit igni.

He houghed their horses - The Hebrew word עקר akar, which we render to hough or hamstring, signifies to wound, cut, or lop off. It is very likely that it means here, not only an act by which they were rendered useless, but by which they were destroyed; as God had purposed that his people should not possess any cattle of this kind, that a warlike and enterprising spirit might not be cultivated among them; and that, when obliged to defend themselves and their country, they might be led to depend upon God for protection and victory. On the same ground, God had forbidden the kings of Israel to multiply horses, Deuteronomy 17:16 (note). See the note there containing the reasons on which this prohibition was founded.
Burnt their chariots - As these could have been of no use without the horses.

And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him,.... Namely, in the following instances:
he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire; not consulting his own worldly interest or that of the people of Israel, but the command of God, which he carefully obeyed, and reserved none for himself or them, as David in another case afterwards did; see 2-Samuel 8:4.

Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him--(See Joshua 11:6). Houghing the horses is done by cutting the sinews and arteries of their hinder legs, so that they not only become hopelessly lame, but bleed to death. The reasons for this special command were that the Lord designed to lead the Israelites to trust in Him, not in military resources (Psalm 20:7); to show that in the land of promise there was no use of horses; and, finally, to discourage their travelling as they were to be an agricultural, not a trading, people.

Joshua carried out the command of the Lord with regard to the chariots and horses.