1 Now all the kings west of the Jordan, in the hill country, in the lowland, and along the whole coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon, the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, heard about these things,
2 and they joined forces with one purpose, to make war on Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4 they on their part resorted to a trick. They set out and posed as envoys, loading their donkeys with worn-out sacks and with old wineskins, cracked and mended.
5 They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and old clothes on their bodies, and all the bread they had brought for the journey was dry and moldy.
6 They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and told him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country. So make a covenant with us now."
7 The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, "Perhaps you are living right among us. Then how could we make a covenant with you?"
8 "We are your servants," they said to Joshua. Joshua asked them, "Who are you, and where have you come from?"
9 They answered, "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. We have heard reports of him and of all he did in Egypt,
10 and of everything he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.
11 So our elders and everyone living in our country told us, 'Take food with you for the journey. Go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; so make a covenant with us now."'
12 This bread of ours was still warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But look at it now: dry and moldy.
13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and see how they have split. Our clothes and our sandals are worn out from the very long trip."
14 The men of Israel accepted some of their provisions, but they did not inquire of the LORD.
15 Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation ratified it with an oath.
16 Three days after making the covenant with them, they heard that they were neighbors who lived close by among them.
17 So the children of Israel set out and on the third day reached their towns: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
18 But the children of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. The whole congregation murmured against the leaders,
19 but all the leaders told the whole congregation, "We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, so we cannot touch them now.
20 This is what we will do with them: we will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them."
21 "Let them live," the leaders said. So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, as the leaders had decided concerning them.
22 Joshua called for the Gibeonites and said to them, "Why did you deceive us by saying, 'We live very far away from you,' when in fact you live among us?
23 Now you are under a curse. Some of you will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the house of my God."
24 They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.
25 We are now in your hands. Do with us whatever you think is good and right."
26 So Joshua did this to them: he rescued them from the children of Israel, and they did not kill them.
27 That day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD at the place he would choose, as they are to this day.