Joshua 9

1When all the kings across the Jordan—in the hill country, the lowland, and all along the coast of the great sea opposite Lebanon—the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite heard.

2They gathered together to fight against Joshua and against Israel with one accord.

3The inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai.

4They acted craftily as well, setting out and posing as envoys while carrying old sacks on their donkeys and wineskins for wine, old and torn yet bound up.

5and old patched shoes on their feet, and old garments on them; all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.

6They went to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land; now make a covenant with us."

7The men of Israel said to the Hivite, “Perhaps you dwell among us. How can we make a covenant with you?”

8They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." 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 on account of the name of Yahweh your God, for we have heard his renown and everything he did in Egypt."

10and everything he did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.

11Our elders and all the inhabitants of our land said to us, "Take provisions in your hands for the journey, go meet them, and say to them, 'We are your servants; now make a covenant with us.'"

12This is our bread, which we took hot as provisions from our houses on the day we set out to come to you; but now, see, it is dry and has become moldy.

13These wineskins for wine, which we filled when new—look, they have burst; and these, our garments and our shoes, have become old because of the very long journey.

14The men took some of their provisions and did not inquire of Yahweh.

15Joshua made terms of peace with them and cut a covenant with them to keep them alive, and the chiefs of the assembly swore to them.

16Three days after they covenanted with them, they heard that they were their neighbors living among them.

17The sons of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

18The Israelites did not strike them because the leaders of the assembly had sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel. The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders.

19All the leaders said to the whole congregation, "We ourselves swore to them by Yahweh, God of Israel; now we cannot touch them."

20We will do this to them and spare their lives, lest wrath come upon us because of the oath we swore to them.

21The leaders said to them, "Let them live," and they became woodcutters and water drawers for the whole assembly, as the leaders had spoken to them.

22Joshua called them and said to them, "Why did you deceive us by claiming, 'We live very far from you,' while you dwell among us?"

23From now on you are cursed, and none of you will ever escape servitude as woodcutters and water drawers for the house of my God.

24They answered Joshua and said, "Because it was clearly declared to your servants that Yahweh your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and we have done this thing."

25Now here we are in your hand; do to us what is good and right in your eyes.

26He treated them accordingly and rescued them from the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not kill them.

27Joshua appointed them that day as woodcutters and water drawers for the assembly and for Yahweh's altar, to this day, in the place he would choose.