¹ And it came to pass, when all the kings who were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite heard these things,

² That they assembled themselves, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

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

⁴ They did work craftily, and went and made as if they had been embassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;

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

⁶ And 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 ye a league with us.

⁷ And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, It may be ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?

⁸ And they said to Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are ye? and whence come ye?

⁹ And they said to him, From a very far country thy servants have come because of the name of the LORD 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 Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.

¹¹ Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us:

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

¹³ And these bottles of wine 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 provisions, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.

¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶ And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league 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 to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim.

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

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

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

²¹ And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood, and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.

²² And Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?

²³ Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bond-men, and 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 the LORD 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 greatly afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

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

²⁶ And so did he to 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 the LORD, even to this day, in the place which he should choose.

¹ These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.

² Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:

³ And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

⁴ Ye shall not do so to the LORD your God.

⁵ But the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:

⁶ And thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will-offerings, and the firstlings of your herds, and of your flocks:

⁷ And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand to, ye and your households, in which the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.

⁸ Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes.

⁹ For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the LORD your God giveth you.

¹⁰ But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies on every side, so that ye dwell in safety:

¹¹ Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow to the LORD:

¹² And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.

¹³ Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest:

¹⁴ But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.

¹⁵ Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatever thy soul desireth, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat of it as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.

¹⁶ Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.

¹⁷ Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy free-will-offerings, or heave-offering of thy hand:

¹⁸ But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands to.

¹⁹ Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

²⁰ When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatever thy soul desireth.

²¹ If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there, shall be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatever thy soul desireth.

²² Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.

²³ Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.

²⁴ Thou shalt not eat it: thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.

²⁵ Thou shalt not eat it; that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.

²⁶ Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go to the place which the LORD shall choose:

²⁷ And thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.

²⁸ Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.

²⁹ When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;

³⁰ Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

³¹ Thou shalt not do so to the LORD thy God; for every abomination to the LORD which he hateth have they done to their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

³² Whatever thing I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add to it, nor diminish from it.