Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them.

that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us from death.”

She told them, “Head to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you. Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you to return. Then you can be on your way.”

But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the Lord’s orders to Joshua.

Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby.

The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. The whole community criticized the leaders,

but all the leaders told the whole community, “We swore an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt them!

The leaders then added, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided.

Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you trick us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby?

Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

Their territory started at Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba,

Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of Ammonite territory as far as Aroer near Rabbah.

However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance to the Levites; their inheritance is the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed them.

Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.

They assigned them Kiriath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding grazing areas.

They assigned them Shechem (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer,

or associate with these nations that remain near you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! You must not worship or bow down to them!

The Lord was with the men of Judah. They conquered the hill country, but they could not conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.

When a leader died, the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one. They would follow after other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They did not give up their practices or their stubborn ways.

Gideon continued, “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” (The Midianites had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)