Joshua 9:3–17

³When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,^{n 4}they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions^B and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. ⁶They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us.”^o

⁷The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you?”^p

⁸They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”^a

Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

⁹They replied to him, “Your servants have come from a faraway land because of the reputation of the Lord your God. For we have heard of his fame, and all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰and all that he did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. ¹¹So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, “We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.” ’ ¹²This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly. ¹³These wineskins were new when we filled them; but see, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.” ¹⁴Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s decision.^{b 15}So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.^c

GIBEON’S DECEPTION DISCOVERED

¹⁶Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them. ¹⁷So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.^d