Joshua 9:8-24

⁸And they said vnto Ioshua, We are thy seruants. Then Ioshua saide vnto them, Who are ye? and whence come ye?

⁹And they answered him, From a very farre countrey thy seruants are come for the Name of the Lord thy God: for we haue heard his fame and all that he hath done in Egypt,

¹⁰And all that he hath done to the two Kings of the Amorites that were beyonde Iorden, to Sihon King of Heshbon, and to Og King of Bashan, which were at Ashtaroth.

¹¹Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of our countrey spake to vs, saying, Take vitailes with you for the iourney, and go to meete them, and say vnto them, Wee are your seruants: now therefore make ye a league with vs.

¹²This our bread we tooke it hote with vs for vittailes out of our houses, the day we departed to come vnto you: but nowe beholde, it is dried, and it is mouled.

¹³Also these bottels of wine which we filled, were newe, and lo, they be rent, and these our garments and our shooes are olde, by reason of the exceeding great iourney.

¹⁴And the men accepted their tale concerning their vittailes, and counselled not with the mouth of the Lord.

¹⁵So Ioshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, that he would suffer them to liue: also the Princes of the Congregation sware vnto them.

¹⁶But at the end of three dayes, after they had made a league with them, they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them.

¹⁷And the children of Israel tooke their iourney, and came vnto their cities the third day, and their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth and Kiriath-iearim.

¹⁸And the children of Israel slewe them not, because the Princes of the Congregation had sworne vnto them by the Lord God of Israel: wherefore all the Congregation murmured against the Princes.

¹⁹Then all the Princes said vnto all the Congregation, We haue sworne vnto them by the Lord God of Israel: nowe therefore we may not touch them.

²⁰But this we wil doe to them, and let them liue, least the wrath be vpon vs because of the othe which we sware vnto them.

²¹And the Princes sayd vnto them againe, Let them liue, but they shall hewe wood, and drawe water vnto all the Congregation, as the Princes appoint them.

²²Ioshua then called them, and talked with them, and sayd, Wherefore haue ye beguiled vs, saying, We are very farre from you, when ye dwel among vs?

²³Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the house of my God.

²⁴And they answered Ioshua, and sayd, Because it was tolde thy seruants, that the Lord thy God had commanded his seruant Moses to giue you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land out of your sight, therefore we were exceeding sore afraid for our liues at the presence of you, and haue done this thing: