The Gibeonite Trickery

9 All the kings ·west of [^Lbeyond] the Jordan River heard about these things: the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They lived in the ·mountains [hill country] and ·on the western foothills [or in the lowlands/^LShephelah] and along the whole ·Mediterranean [^LGreat] Sea coast. ² So all these kings gathered to fight Joshua and the Israelites.

³ When the ·people [inhabitants] of Gibeon heard ·how Joshua had defeated [^Lwhat Joshua had done to] Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they decided to trick the Israelites. They gathered old sacks and old ·leather wine bags [wineskins] that were cracked and mended, and they put them on the backs of their donkeys. ⁵ They put ·old [^Lworn and patched] sandals on their feet and wore ·old [ragged] clothes, and they took some dry, ·moldy [or crumbling] bread. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp near Gilgal [4:19].

The men said to Joshua and the ·Israelites [^Lmen of Israel], “We have traveled from a faraway country. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.”

⁷ The ·Israelites [men of Israel] said to these Hivites, “Maybe you live near us. How can we make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [Deut. 20:10–18]?”

⁸ The Hivites said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”

But Joshua asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

⁹ The men answered, “We are your servants who have come from a far country, because we heard of the ·fame [reputation; ^Lname] of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done and everything he did in Egypt. ¹⁰ We heard that he defeated the two kings of the Amorites ·from the east side of [^Lwho were beyond] the Jordan River—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan who ·ruled [^Lwas] in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and ·our people [^Lall the inhabitants of our country] said to us, ‘Take ·food [provisions] for your journey and go and meet ·the Israelites [^Lthem]. Tell them, “We are your servants. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.” ’

¹² “Look at our bread. On the day we left home to come to you it was warm and fresh, but now [^Llook; ^Tbehold] it is dry and ·moldy [or crumbling]. ¹³ Look at our ·leather wine bags [wineskins]. They were new and filled with wine, but now they ·are cracked and old [are ripped; or have burst]. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long journey.”

¹⁴ The men of Israel ·tasted [or examined; ^Ltook some of] the bread, but they did not ·ask the Lord what to do [seek the Lord’s guidance]. ¹⁵ So Joshua agreed to make peace with the Gibeonites and to let them live. And the leaders of the Israelites ·swore an oath to keep the agreement [^Lswore to them].

¹⁶ Three days after they had made the ·agreement [covenant; treaty], the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites ·lived nearby [^Lwere neighbors and lived in their midst]. ¹⁷ So the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] went to where they lived and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did not attack those cities, because they had ·made a promise [^Lsworn] to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.

·All the Israelites [The whole assembly/congregation] grumbled against the leaders. ¹⁹ But [^Lall] the leaders answered, “We ·have given our promise [^Lswore (an oath)] before the Lord, the God of Israel, so we cannot ·attack [^Ltouch] them now. ²⁰ This is what we must do. We must let them live. Otherwise, ·God’s anger [^Lwrath] will ·be against [come upon] us for breaking the oath we swore to them. ²¹ So let them live, but they will cut wood and carry water for ·our people [the whole congregation].” ·So the leaders kept their promise to them [or…as the leaders had decided].

²² Joshua called for the Gibeonites and asked, “Why did you ·lie to [deceive; trick] us? ·Your land was near our camp [^LYou live among us], but you told us you were from a far country. ²³ Now, you will be placed under a curse to ·be our slaves [never cease being slaves/servants]. You will have to cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”

²⁴ The Gibeonites answered Joshua, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us. ·We heard [^LIt was clearly/with certainty reported to your servants] that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land and to ·kill [destroy] all the people who lived in it [Deut. 20:15–18]. That is why we did this. ²⁵ Now [^Llook; ^Tbehold] ·you can decide what [^Lwe are in your hands] to do with us, whatever you think is right.”

²⁶ So Joshua saved their lives by not allowing the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] to kill them, ²⁷ but he made the Gibeonites slaves. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites, and they did it for the altar of the Lord—·wherever he chose it to be [^Lat the place that he would choose; 1 Sam. 4:3; 1 Kin. 9:3]. They are still doing this today [2 Sam. 21:1–14].