The Deceit of the Gibeonites

1And when al ye kinges that dwell beyonde Iordane in the hylles and valleys, & along by all the coastes of the great sea, ouer against Libanon: Namely the Hethites, the Amorites, the Chanaanites, the Pherezites, the Heuites, and the Iebusites, hearde therof: 2They gathered them selues together, to fyght against Iosuah, and against Israel, with one accorde.

3And the inhabitours of Gibeon heard what Iosuah had done vnto Iericho, and to Ai, 4And they dyd worke wylylye, & went and made them selues embassadours, and toke olde sackes vpon their asses, & wine bottels old, both rent & boude vp: 5And olde clowted shoes vpon their feete, and their rayment was olde: and all their prouision of bread was dryed vp, and hored. 6And they came vnto Iosuah into the hoast to Gilgal, and sayde vnto him and vnto all the men of Israel, We be come from a far countrey: and nowe make ye agreement with vs. 7And the men of Israel sayde vnto the Heuite: It may be thou dwellest amog vs, and then howe can I make peace with thee? 8And they sayde vnto Iosuah: We are thy seruauntes. And Iosuah sayde vnto them againe: What are ye, & whence come ye? 9They aunswered him: From a very farre coutrey thy seruauntes are come, for the name of the Lorde thy God: for we haue hearde the fame of him, & all that he did in Egypte, 10And all that he did to the two kinges of ye Amorites that were beyonde Iordane, Sehon king of Hesbon, and Og king of Basa, which were at Astaroth. 11Wherfore our elders and all the enhabitours of our countrey spake to vs, saying: Take vitailes with you to serue by the way, and go meete them, and say vnto them, We are your seruautes: And now make ye a couenaunt of peace with vs. 12This our foode of bread we toke with vs out of our houses whot, ye daye we departed to come vnto you: But nowe beholde, it is dried vp, and hored. 13And these bottelles of wine whiche we filled, were newe, and see they be rent: And these our garmentes and shoes are worne for oldenesse, by the reason of the exceeding long iourney. 14And the men toke of theyr vitayles, & counseled not with the mouth of the Lorde. 15And Iosuah made peace which the, and made a couenaunt with them, that they shulde be suffered to liue: And the princes of the congregation sware vnto them.

16But at the ende of three dayes, after they had made a league with them, they hearde that they were their neighbours, & that they dwelt among them. 17And the children of Israel toke their iorney, and came vnto their cities the thirde day: and their cities were Gibeon, and Caphira, Beroth, and Kiriathiarim. 18And the children of Israel slue them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworne vnto them by the Lord God of Israel: and all the multitude mourned agaynst the princes. 19But all the princes sayde vnto all the congregation: We haue sworne vnto them by the Lorde God of Israel, and therfore we may not hurt them. 20But this we wyll do to them, We wyll let them liue, lest wrath be vpon vs because of the othe which we sware vnto them. 21And the princes said vnto them againe, Let them liue, and hewe wood, & drawe water vnto all the congregation, and they dyd as the princes sayde vnto them.

22And Iosuah called for them, & talked with them, and sayde, Wherfore haue ye beguiled vs, saying, We dwell farre from you: when ye dwell among vs? 23And nowe are ye cursed, and there shal not ceasse to be of you bondmen, and hewers of wood, & drawers of water for the house of my God. 24And they aunswered Iosuah, & sayd, It was tolde thy seruauntes how that the Lorde thy God had commaunded his seruaunt Moyses to geue you all the lande, and to destroy all the inhabitours therof out of your sight, and therfore we were exceedyng sore afrayde for our liues at the presence of you, and haue done this thing. 25And beholde, we are in thyne hande: as it seemeth good and right in thyne eyes to do vnto vs, so do. 26And euen so did he vnto them, and rid them out of the hande of the chyldren of Israel, that they slue them not. 27And Iosuah made them that same day hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the congregation and for the aulter of God, vnto this day, in the place whiche he shoulde choose.