¹ Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

² Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

⁶ And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.

⁷ Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

⁸ And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

⁹ So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.

¹⁰ And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.

¹¹ And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.

¹² And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.

¹³ And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

¹⁴ And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

¹⁵ Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,

¹⁶ And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.

¹⁷ But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.

¹⁸ The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

¹⁹ And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

²⁰ And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

²¹ And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.

²² And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

²³ And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

²⁴ And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

²⁵ And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

¹ It happened, when all the kings who 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, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard of it

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 to Jericho and to Ai,

⁴ they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins, old and torn and bound up,

⁵ and old and patched shoes on their feet, and wore old garments. All the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.

⁶ They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him, and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country. Now therefore make a covenant with us."

⁷ The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "What if you live among us. How could we make a covenant with you?"

⁸ They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." Joshua said to them, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

⁹ They said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of Yahweh your God; for we have heard of his fame, all that he did in Egypt,

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

¹¹ Our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and tell them, "We are your servants. Now make a covenant with us."'

¹² This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we went out to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry, and has become moldy.

¹³ These wineskins, which we filled, were new; and behold, they are torn. These our garments and our shoes have become old because of the very long journey."

¹⁴ The men sampled their provisions, and didn't ask counsel from the mouth of Yahweh.

¹⁵ Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live. The princes of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶ It happened 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 lived among them.

¹⁷ The children of Israel traveled and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim.

¹⁸ The children of Israel didn't strike them, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel. All the congregation murmured against the princes.

¹⁹ But all the princes said to all the congregation, "We have sworn to them by Yahweh, 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 on us, because of the oath which we swore to them."

²¹ The princes said to them, "Let them live, so they became wood cutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the princes had spoken to them."

²² Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, "Why have you deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you live among us?

²³ Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you will never fail to be bondservants, both wood cutters and drawers of water for the house of my God."

²⁴ They answered Joshua, and said, "Because your servants were certainly told how Yahweh your 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 very afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

²⁵ Now, behold, we are in your hand. Do to us as it seems good and right to you to do."

²⁶ He did so to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they didn't kill them.

²⁷ That day Joshua made them wood cutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day, in the place which he should choose.