The Koine Bible

And when the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, those in the hill country and those in the lowland and those in all the coastland of the great sea and those near Antilibanus, and the Hittites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Amorites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites, heard,

they gathered together to the same place to make war against Joshua and Israel, all together

And those dwelling in Gibeon heard all that the Lord did to Jericho and to Ai

And they also acted craftily, and having come they provisioned themselves and prepared, and taking old sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, and torn, tied up

and the soles of their shoes and their sandals were old and worn out on their feet, and their garments were worn out on them, and their bread of provision was dry and moldy and eaten away

And they came to Joshua into the camp of Israel at Gilgal, and they said to Joshua and to Israel, We have come from a far country, and now make a covenant with us

And the sons of Israel said to the Horrite, See, lest you dwell among me, and how shall I make a covenant with you?

And they said to Joshua, We are your servants. And Joshua said to them, From where are you, and from where have you come?

And they said, From a land very far away your servants have come, for in the name of the Lord your God we have heard his name and all that he did in Egypt.

and all that he did to the kings of the Amorrites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth and in Edrei

And when our elders and all the inhabitants of our land heard, they said to us, saying, Take food for yourselves for the way, and go to meet them, and you shall say to them, We are your servants, and now make a covenant with us.

These are the loaves; hot ones we provisioned them on the day when we went out to come to you, but now they have dried up and have become moldy

And these wine-skins which we filled new, and these have burst; and our garments and our sandals have grown old from the very much journey, exceedingly

And the leaders took of their provisions, and they did not inquire of the Lord.

And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to preserve them, and the leaders of the assembly swore to them

And it happened after three days, after making a covenant with them, they heard that they were near to them and that they were dwelling among them

And the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities, and their cities were Gibeon and Kephirah and Beeroth and the city of Jearim

And the sons of Israel did not fight with them, because all the rulers had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel; and all the assembly grumbled against the rulers.

And the leaders said to all the assembly, We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we shall not be able to touch them.

This we will do: we will let them live, and we will preserve them, and there will not be wrath against us because of the oath which we swore to them

They shall live and they shall be woodcutters and water-carriers for all the assembly, just as the rulers said to them.

And Joshua summoned them and said to them, Why did you deceive me, saying, We are very far from you, but you are inhabitants of those dwelling among us?

And now you are cursed; there shall not fail from you a slave nor a woodcutter for me and for my God

And they answered Joshua, saying, It was reported to us all that the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to give you this land and to destroy us and all those dwelling upon it from before you, and we feared greatly for our lives before you, and we did this thing.

And now behold, we are under your authority; as it seems good to you and as it seems to you, do to us.

And they did to them so, and Joshua delivered them on that day out of the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not put them to death.

And Joshua appointed them on that day woodcutters and water carriers for all the assembly and for the altar of God; therefore the inhabitants of Gibeon became woodcutters and water carriers for the altar of God until this very day, and to the place which the Lord may choose.