They told Joshua, “We will do everything you say. We will go wherever you send us.

The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon ¹  your subjects! ²  Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.” ³ 

Joshua prayed, ¹  “O, Master, Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us?

They will attack ¹  us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them.

They told Joshua, “Surely the Lord is handing over all the land to us! ¹  All who live in the land are cringing before us!” ² 

Our leaders and all who live in our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey and go meet them. Tell them, “We are willing to be your subjects. ¹  Make a treaty with us.”’

So now we are in your power. ¹  Do to us what you think is good and appropriate. ² 

¹ Joshua summoned the Gibeonites ²  and said to them, “Why did you trick ³  us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby? ⁴ 

For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ¹  in the land of Egypt ²  and performed these awesome miracles ³  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ⁴ 

The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us ¹  that the Lord is God.”

The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can ¹  worship ²  other gods!

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ¹  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ² 

The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met: ¹ 

If you should report what we’ve been up to, ¹  we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.”

The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you assigned us only one tribal allotment? After all, we have many people, for until now the Lord has enabled us to increase in number.” ¹ 

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live near us. ¹  So how can we make a treaty with you?”

But if your own land ¹  is impure, ²  cross over to the Lord’s own land, ³  where the Lord himself lives, ⁴  and settle down among us. ⁵  But don’t rebel against the Lord or us ⁶  by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God.

I and all the troops ¹  who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them.

Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ¹  It will be a witness against you if ²  you deny your God.”

We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing ¹  to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors ²  made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’ ³