1. All the kings west of the Jordan River heard about these things. They were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They lived in the hill country and in the plains. They also lived along the seacoast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon.
2. All these kings came together and made plans to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
3. The people from the city of Gibeon heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai.
4. So they decided to try to trick the Israelites. This was their plan: They gathered together old wineskins that were cracked and broken. They put these old wineskins on the backs of their animals. They put old pieces of cloth on their animals to look as if they had traveled from far away.
5. The men put old sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. They found some old bread that was dry and moldy.
6. Then they went to the camp of the Israelites. This camp was near Gilgal. The men went to Joshua and said to him, “We have traveled from a faraway country. We want to make a peace agreement with you.”