‘ And Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and its king. He utterly destroyed (devoted) them and all the souls who were in it. He left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.'
The same day as he executed the kings, Makkedah capitulated. It may well have been unwalled. Its site is unknown. ‘He utterly devoted them' i.e. the city, its inhabitants and their king. All in it was ‘devoted to YHWH' (destroyed), apart probably from the cattle and the spoils (compare Joshua 11:14). The king was slain with the sword, and hung up as the king of Jericho had been (Joshua 6:21 and Joshua 8:2 with Joshua 8:29).
What follows from here to Joshua 10:43 is a summary of the overall attack on the southern hill country and Shephelah. This refers to the initial defeat of these cities and a limiting thereby of their ability to prevent Israelite settlement and to resist later. Once Joshua had passed on to other battles the cities would be reoccupied by those who had fled and taken refuge in the forests and hills, and would have to be reduced again. But from now on they would be more vulnerable and far less strong. There was little that Joshua could do about occupying them. He could not afford to leave forces behind in order to occupy each city that he conquered.