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until the eventide: and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, unto this day.

      ³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, in mount Ebal,

      ³¹ as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lifted up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt-offerings unto Jehovah, and sacrificed peace-offerings.

      ³² And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote, in the presence of the children of Israel.

      ³³ And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the homeborn; half of them in front of mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.

      ³⁴ And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.

      ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners that were among them.

      Chapter 9

       Table of Contents

      ¹ And it came to pass, when all the kings that were beyond the Jordan, in the hill-country, and in the lowland, and on all the shore of the great sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;

      ² that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

      ³ But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

      ⁴ they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-skins, old and rent and bound up,

      ⁵ and old and patched shoes upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and was become mouldy.

      ⁶ And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We are come from a far country: now therefore make ye a covenant with us.

      ⁷ And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a covenant with you?

      ⁸ And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?

      ⁹ And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of Jehovah thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

      ¹⁰ and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.

      ¹¹ And our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: and now make ye a covenant with us.

      ¹² This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and is become mouldy:

      ¹³ and these wine-skins, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they are rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

      ¹⁴ And the men took of their provision, and asked not counsel at the mouth of Jehovah.

      ¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

      ¹⁶ And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them.

      ¹⁷ And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

      ¹⁸ And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by Jehovah, the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.

      ¹⁹ But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by Jehovah, the God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.

      ²⁰ This we will do to them, and let them live; lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.

      ²¹ And the princes said unto them, Let them live: so they became hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation, as the princes had spoken unto them.

      ²² And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?

      ²³ Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall never fail to be of you bondmen, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

      ²⁴ And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that Jehovah thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

      ²⁵ And now, behold, we are in thy hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.

      ²⁶ And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.

      ²⁷ And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of Jehovah, unto this day, in the place which he should choose.

      Chapter 10

       Table of Contents

      ¹ Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;

      ² that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

      ³ Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,

      ⁴ Come up unto me, and help me, and let us smite Gibeon; for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

      ⁵ Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it.

      ⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered together against us.

      ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.

      ⁸