¹And it happened, when all the kings who were on the other side of the Jordan heard, in the hill country, in the Shephelah, and along all the shore of the great sea to the front of Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

²And they gathered together to fight against Joshua and against Israel, with one mouth.

³And those who dwelled in Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai.

⁴And they acted, they also, with cunning: they went and provisioned themselves, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins of wine, worn out, ripped open, and tied up;

⁵And worn-out and patched sandals were on their feet, and worn-out cloaks on them; and all the bread of their provisions had dried up and turned to crumbs.

⁶And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and they said to him and to the men of Israel: From a distant land we have come, and now cut us a covenant.

⁷And the men of Israel said to the Hivite: Perhaps you are dwelling in my midst; and how could I cut a covenant with you?

⁸And they said to Joshua: We are your slaves. And Joshua said to them: Who are you, and from where do you come?

⁹And they said to him: From a very distant land your slaves have come, for the name of Yahweh your God; for we have heard the report of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

¹⁰and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.

¹¹And our elders and all who dwell in our land said to us: Take provisions in your hand for the road, and go to meet them, and say to them: We are your slaves; and now cut us a covenant.

¹²This bread of ours was warm when we provisioned ourselves with it from our houses on the day we went out to go to you; and now look, it has dried up and become crumbs.

¹³And these wineskins of wine that we filled were new; and look, they have burst open. And these cloaks of ours and our sandals have worn out from the exceeding greatness of the road.

¹⁴And the men took some of their provisions, but they did not inquire of the mouth of Yahweh.

¹⁵And Joshua made wholeness for them and cut a covenant with them, to let them live; and the princes of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶And it happened at the end of three days, after they had cut a covenant with them, that they heard that they were near to him, and that they were dwelling in his midst.

¹⁷And the children of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day; and their cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

¹⁸But the children of Israel did not strike them, for the princes of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by Yahweh the God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the princes.

¹⁹And all the princes said to all the congregation: We have sworn an oath to them by Yahweh the God of Israel; and now we cannot touch them.

²⁰This we will do to them, and let them live, and no wrath will be upon us over the oath that we swore to them.

²¹And the princes said to them: Let them live. And they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the princes had spoken to them.

²²And Joshua called them and spoke to them, saying: Why did you deceive us, saying: We are very distant from you, when you are dwelling in our midst?

²³And now you are cursed, and from you will not be cut off a slave, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

²⁴And they answered Joshua and said: For it was surely told to your slaves what Yahweh your God commanded his slave Moses, to give you all the land and to wipe out all who dwell in the land from your face; so we were very afraid for our living selves before your face, and we acted on this word.

²⁵And now look, we are in your hand; whatever is good and right in your eyes to do to us, do.

²⁶And so he did to them: he delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not kill them.

²⁷And on that day Joshua set them as cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, until this day, at the place that he will choose.