Joshua 9:1-27
The Gibeonite Deception
1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”
8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.
But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
All the kings west of the Jordan River heard about these things...They were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites...They lived in the hill country and in the plains...They also lived along the seacoast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon...All these kings came together and made plans to fight against Joshua and the Israelites...The people from the city of Gibeon heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai...So they decided to try to trick the Israelites...This was their plan: They gathered together old wineskins that were cracked and broken...They put these old wineskins on the backs of their animals...They put old pieces of cloth on their animals to look as if they had traveled from far away...The men put old sandals on their feet and wore old clothes...They found some old bread that was dry and moldy...Then they went to the camp of the Israelites...This camp was near Gilgal...The men went to Joshua and said to him, “We have traveled from a faraway country...We want to make a peace agreement with you.”...The men of Israel said to these Hivite men, “Maybe you are trying to trick us...Maybe you live near us...We cannot make a peace agreement with you until we know where you are from.”...The Hivite men said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”...But Joshua asked, “Who are you?...Where do you come from?”...The men answered, “We are your servants...We have come from a faraway country...We came because we heard of the great power of the LORD your God...We heard about what He has done and about everything He did in Egypt...And we heard that He defeated the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan River...This was King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in the land of Ashtaroth...So our elders and our people said to us, ‘Take enough food for your journey...Go and meet with the Israelites.’ Tell them, ‘We are your servants...Make a peace agreement with us.’...“Look at our bread...When we left home, it was warm and fresh...But now you can see that it is dry and old...Look at our wineskins...When we left home, they were new and filled with wine...But now you can see that they are cracked and old...Look at our clothes and sandals...You can see that the long journey has almost destroyed the things we wear.”...
The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth...So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the LORD what they should do...Joshua agreed to make peace with them...He agreed to let them live...The leaders of Israel agreed with this promise of Joshua...Three days later the Israelites learned that these men lived very near their camp...So the Israelites went to the place where they lived...On the third day the Israelites came to the cities of Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim...But the army of Israel did not try to fight against those cities...They had made a peace agreement with them...They had made a promise to them before the LORD, the God of Israel...All the people complained against the leaders who made the agreement... But the leaders answered, “We have given our promise...We promised before the LORD, the God of Israel...We cannot fight against them now...This is what we must do...We must let them live...We cannot hurt them or God will be angry with us because we broke the promise we made to them...So let them live, but they will be our servants...They will cut wood for us and carry water for all our people.”...So the leaders did not break their promise of peace to them...Joshua called the Gibeonites together...He said, “Why did you lie to us?...Your land was near our camp...But you told us you were from a faraway country...Now, your people will have many troubles...All of your people will be slaves—they will have to cut wood and carry water for the house of God.”...The Gibeonites answered, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us...We heard that God commanded his servant Moses to give you all this land...And God told you to kill all the people who lived in this land...That is why we lied to you...Now we are your servants...You can do whatever you think is right.”...So the Gibeonites became slaves, but Joshua let them live...He did not allow the Israelites to kill them...He made them slaves of the Israelites...They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites and for the altar of the LORD—wherever the LORD chose it to be...They are still slaves today...