1Now it happened, when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan—in the hill country, in the lowland, and along the whole coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard of it,
2that they gathered themselves together to fight against Joshua and against Israel with one accord.
3But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
4and they too acted with cunning: they set out and disguised themselves as envoys, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out and split and mended,
5and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and crumbling.
6They went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; now then, cut a covenant with us.”
7But the men of Israel said to the Hivite, “Perhaps you dwell among us; then how can I cut a covenant with you?”
8They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and from where do you come?”
9They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very distant land because of the name of Yahweh your God; for we have heard the report of him and all that he did in Egypt,
10and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.
11So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now then, cut a covenant with us.”’
12This bread of ours was warm when we provisioned ourselves with it from our houses on the day we set out to come to you; but now, look, it is dry and has become crumbling.
13And these wineskins that we filled were new, but look, they are split; and these garments of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.
14So the men took some of their provisions, but they did not inquire of the mouth of Yahweh.
15And Joshua made peace with them and cut a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
16Now it happened, at the end of three days after they had cut a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors and were dwelling among them.
17So the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Their cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
18But the sons of Israel did not strike them down, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation murmured against the leaders.
19Then all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel; and now we cannot touch them.”
20This we will do to them: we will let them live, so that no wrath may come upon us on account of the oath that we swore to them.”
21And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water-drawers for the whole congregation, as the leaders had promised them.
22Then Joshua summoned them and spoke to them, saying, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are dwelling among us?
23Now therefore you are cursed, and none of you shall cease to be a slave—woodcutters and water-drawers for the house of my God.”
24They answered Joshua and said, “Because it was plainly told to your servants that Yahweh your God had commanded Moses his servant to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; so we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and we did this thing.
25And now, here we are in your hand; as it seems good and right in your eyes to do to us, do.”
26So he did this to them, and delivered them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.
27And on that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water-drawers for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day, at the place that he would choose.
Open in the interactive reader →