Joshua 9:3-16

3Some Hivite people who lived in Gibeon heard how Joshua had won against Jericho and Ai.

4So they had a clever idea. Some men took old bags of food and broken bags of wine that had holes in them. They put these things on their donkeys.

5They wore old shoes on their feet, and they dressed themselves in old clothes. They took some bread that was old and dry.

6They arrived at the tents of the Israelites in Gilgal. They said to Joshua and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a land that is very far away. Please let us make an agreement that we will not fight each other.’

7But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, ‘Perhaps you live near to us. So we could not make a promise not to fight against you.’

8The Hivites said to Joshua, ‘If you agree, we will become your servants.’ Joshua asked them, ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’

9They answered, ‘We, your servants, have come from a country that is very far away. We heard about the Lord, who is your God. We have heard about all the things that he did in Egypt.

10We also heard what he did to the two kings of the Amorites. They ruled cities east of the Jordan: Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

11Our leaders and all our people told us to come to meet you. Our leaders said, “Take food and drink for your journey. Go to meet them, and say to them, ‘We want to be your servants. Please promise not to fight against us.’ ”

12We have come a very long way. This bread was warm when we put it in our bags on the day that we left home. But see how hard and dry it has become.

13These bags of wine were new, but see how old and spoiled they are now. Our clothes and our shoes have become old as we made our long journey.’

14The Israelite men tasted some of the Gibeonites' food, but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

15So Joshua agreed that they would not kill the people of Gibeon. The Israelite leaders also said that they would obey this agreement.

16Three days after they made this agreement, the Israelites discovered that the Gibeonites lived near to them.