1. The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan — in the hills, in the foothills, and all along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon; these were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
2. They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
3. But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4. and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins.
5. They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and mouldy.