Joshua 9

The Nations Team Up Against Israel

1 When all the kings west of the Jordan heard what went down - In the hills, valleys, coasts, and even Lebanon -

2 They came together and said, “Listen, let us squad up and take on Israel.”

Gibeon Comes with the Sneaky Play

3 But the people from Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai,

4 So they came up with a slick plan. They put on raggedy clothes, beat-up sandals, and packed moldy bread - To look like they came from far away.

5 Their bags were torn up, and their wine skins were crusty and patched. They made sure everything screamed “We been traveling for a minute.”

6 Then they pulled up on Joshua at Gilgal and said, “We from way out - we tryna make a peace deal with you all.”

Israel Suspicious, but Do Not Pray on It

7 The Israelites were like, “How do we know you are not from around here? If you are local, we cannot make any deal with you.”

8 They said, “We are your servants.” Joshua asked, “Who are y’all? Where y’all from?”

9 They replied, “We came from far because we heard about your God - How He dropped Egypt and smashed kings like Sihon and Og.”

10 “Word about you all reached us, So our leaders told us to come make peace.”

11 “We grabbed some food and dipped. Check it - it was fresh out the oven when we left.”

12 “Now it is moldy and dry.”

13 “Our clothes and sandals, Worn out from the journey.”

14 The Israelites checked the supplies… But they did not pray to God about it.

15 So Joshua made a peace deal with them, locked them in with a treaty, And the leaders co-signed it with an oath.

Truth Comes Out

16 Three days later, they found out - These dudes were locals!

17 So Israel rolled up to their towns - Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim.

18 But they did not attack, because the leaders had made an oath to them in the Lord’s name. The people were tight about it, though.

19 The leaders said, “We cannot touch them - we gave our word before God. That is that.”

20 “We will let them live - but they will be under us - Or God’s anger will hit us for breaking our word.”

21 So they said, “They live - but they finna chop wood and haul water for us.” And that is how it went down.

Joshua Confronts the Hustlers

22 Joshua called them out and said, “Why did you all lie? You said you were far off, but you are right here in the hood.”

23 “From now on, you servants - Woodcutters and water boys for God’s house.”

24 They said, “We heard God gave you all this land and told you all to wipe out everybody. We had to play it smart - we are not tryna die.”

25 “So here we are - in your hands. Do whatever you must do.”

26 Joshua did not let Israel harm them, But he made them workers for life - serving the Lord’s altar.

27 And from that day on, they stayed cutting wood and hauling water for God’s people, Just like Joshua said.