1 And when these things were heard, all the kings beyond (the) Jordan, that dwelt in hilly places, and in plain places, in coasts of the sea, and in the brink of the great sea, and they that dwelt beside Lebanon, (the) Hittite, and Amorite, Canaanite, and Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite, (And when these things were heard, all the kings west of the Jordan River, who lived in the hill country, and on the plains, and by the sea coasts, and at the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and they who lived beside Lebanon, yea, the Hittites, and Amorites, Canaanites, and Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,)

2 were (all) gathered together to fight against Joshua and Israel, with one will, and with the same accord.

3 And they that dwelt in Gibeon, heard (of) all the things that Joshua had done to Jericho, and to Ai;

4 and they thought fellily, and took to themselves meats, and putted eld sackcloths on asses, and wine bottles broken, and sewed (up)/and patched, (and they thought out things craftily, and then took some food for themselves, and put old sackcloths upon their donkeys, and wine bottles that were broken and then sewed up, or patched,)

5 and full eld shoes, the which were sewed together with old patches, to show their oldness; and these men were clothed with full old clothes; also the loaves, which they bare for lifelode in the way, were hard and broken into gobbets, (or and the bread, which they carried for sustenance on the way, was hard and broken into pieces).

6 And they went to Joshua, that dwelled then in tents in Gilgal (or who lived then in the camp at Gilgal); and they said to him, and to all Israel together, We [have] come from a far land, and we covet to make peace with you.

7 And the men of Israel answered to them, and said, Lest peradventure ye dwell in the land, which is due to us by heritage, and we may not make bond of peace with you. (And the Israelites answered, and said to them, Agreed, unless ye live in the land that is due to us by inheritance, and then we cannot make a covenant with you.)

8 And they said to Joshua, We be thy servants. To whom Joshua said, What men be ye, and from whence came ye?

9 They answered, (We) Thy servants came from a full far land in the name of thy Lord God; for we have heard the fame of his power, and all (the) things which he did in Egypt,

10 and to the two kings of Amorites beyond (the) Jordan; to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, that were in Ashtaroth. (and to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan River; that is, to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and to Og, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.)

11 And the elder men and all the dwellers of our land said to us, Take ye meats in your hands, for the full long way; and go ye to them, and say ye, We be your servants; make ye bond of peace with us. (And the elders and all the citizens of our land said to us, Take ye food with you, for the very long way; and go ye to them, and say ye, We be your servants; make ye a covenant with us.)

12 And we took hot loaves, when we went out of our houses to come to you; (but) now they be made dry and broken, for great eldness;

13 we filled new bottles of wine (or and we filled new bottles with wine); (but) now they be broken and unsewed; (and) the clothes and (the) shoes, with which we be clothed, and which we have on our feet, be broken and well-nigh wasted, from the length of (the) long way.

14 Then they took of [the] meats of these men, and they asked not counsel of the Lord. (And they took some food from these men, but they did not ask any counsel from the Lord.)

15 And Joshua made peace with them. And when the bond of peace was made, he promised, that they should not be slain; and the princes of the multitude swore to them. (And so Joshua made peace with them. And when the covenant was made, he promised, that they would not be killed; and the leaders of the multitude swore to them as well. And they went away.)

16 And after three days of the bond of peace made, the men of Israel heard, that those men dwelled in nigh place, and that they should be soon among those men. (And three days after that the covenant was made, the Israelites heard that those men lived nearby, and that they would soon be among them.)

17 And the sons of Israel moved their tents, and came in the third day into the cities of them, (or And the Israelites moved their camp, and came on the third day into their cities), of which cities these be the names; Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriathjearim.

18 And Israel destroyed not them, for the princes of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Therefore all the common people grouched against the princes of Israel; (But Israel did not destroy them, for the leaders of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. And so all the common people grumbled against Israel’s leaders;)

19 and the princes answered to them, We swore to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and therefore we may not touch them; (and the leaders answered to them, and said, We swore to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and so we cannot touch them;)

20 but we shall do this thing to them; be they kept that they live, lest the ire of the Lord be stirred against us, if we forswear us to them; (but we shall do this to them; let them be kept alive, lest the Lord’s anger be stirred up against us, if we break our oath to them;)

21 but so live they, that they hew trees, and bear waters, into the uses of all the multitude. And while they spake these things, (but let them live, so that they can cut wood, and carry water, for the use of all the multitude of Israel. And while they spoke of these things,)

22 Joshua called (for the) Gibeonites, and said to them, Why would ye deceive us by fraud, (so) that ye said, We dwell full far from you, since ye be in the midst of us? (or We live far away from you, when truly ye live right here in the midst of us?)

23 Therefore ye shall be under cursing, and none shall fail of your generation, hewing trees and bearing waters, into the house of my God. (And so because ye did this, ye shall all be cursed, and none of your generation shall ever be free, from cutting wood and carrying water, for the House of my God or for God’s household, or his family.)

24 Which answered, It was told to us thy servants, that thy Lord God promised to Moses, his servant, that he should betake to you all the land, and should lose all the dwellers thereof; therefore we dreaded greatly, and purveyed to our lives, and we were compelled by your dread, and we took this counsel. (And they answered, It was told to us thy servants, that the Lord thy God promised to his servant Moses, that he would deliver all the land to you, and would destroy all of its inhabitants; and so we greatly feared, and purveyed for our own lives, and we were compelled by our fear of you, and so we did this thing.)

25 Now forsooth we be in thine hand; do thou to us that, that seemeth rightful and good to thee. (And so now we be in thy hands; do thou to us what seemeth right and good to thee.)

26 Therefore Joshua did, as he said, and delivered them from the hands of the sons of Israel, that they should not be slain. (And so Joshua did, as he said, and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they were not killed.)

27 And in that day Joshua deemed them to be into the service of all the people, and of the altar of the Lord, and to hew trees, and to bear waters, till into present time, in the place which the Lord had chosen. (And on that day, Joshua decreed them to be in the service of all the people of Israel, and of the altar of the Lord, and to cut wood, and to carry water, yea, even until this present time, in the place which the Lord had chosen.)