3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4 they resorted to a ruse: they went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and mouldy.
6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, ‘We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.’
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, ‘But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?’
8 ‘We are your servants,’ they said to Joshua.But Joshua asked, ‘Who are you and where do you come from?’
9 They answered: ‘Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt,