Joshua 9:8-24

⁸And they said to Joshua, We are your servants: and Joshua said to them, Whence are you°, and whence have you° come?

⁹And they said, Your servants are come from a very far country in the name of the Lord your God: for we have heard his name, and all that he did in Egypt,

¹⁰and all that he did to the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Basan, who lived in Astaroth and in Edrain.

¹¹And our elders and all that inhabit our land when they heard spoke to us, saying, Take to yourselves provision for the way, and go to meet them; and you° shall say to them, We are your servants, and now make a covenant with us.

¹²These are the loaves—we took them hot for our journey on the day on which we came out to come to you; and now they are dried and become mouldy.

¹³And these are the skins of wine which we filled when new, and they are tore; and our garments and our shoes are worn out because of the very long journey.

¹⁴And the chiefs took of their provision, and asked not counsel of the Lord.

¹⁵And Joshua made peace with them, and they made a covenant with them to preserve them; and the princes of the congregation sware to them.

¹⁶And it came to pass three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were near neighbours, and that they lived amongst them.

¹⁷And the children of Israel departed and came to their cities; and their cities were Gabaon, and Kephira, and Berot, and the cities of Jarin.

¹⁸Land the children of Israel fought not with them, because all the princes sware to them by the Lord God of Israel; and all the congregation murmured at the princes.

¹⁹And the princes said to all the congregation: We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel, and now we shall not be able to touch them.

²⁰This we will do; take them alive, and we will preserve them: so there shall not be wrath against us by reason of the oath which we swore to them.

²¹They shall live, and shall be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation, as the princes said to them.

²²And Joshua called them together and said to them, Why have you° deceived me, saying, We live very far from you; whereas you° are fellow-countrymen of those who dwell amongst us?

²³And now you° are cursed: there shall not fail of you a slave, or a hewer of wood, or a drawer of water to me and my God.

²⁴And they answered Joshua, saying, It was reported to us what the Lord your God charged his servant Moses, to give you this land, and to destroy us and all that lived on it from before you; and we feared very much for our lives because of you, and therefore we did this thing.