³ When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,^{(A) 4} they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions^[a] and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. ⁶ They 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.”^(B)

⁷ The men of Israel replied to the Hivites,^[b] “Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you?”^(C)

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

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

⁹ They replied to him, “Your servants have come from a far away land because of the reputation of the Lord your God. For we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and all that He did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So 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.”’ ¹² This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and crumbly. ¹³ These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.” ¹⁴ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s counsel.^{(D) 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.^(E)

Gibeon’s Deception Discovered

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