² So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)^(A)

¹⁷ They make much of you but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them.

² For I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not based on knowledge.^(A)

² They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.^(A)

⁵⁴ When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[a](A) 55} But he turned and rebuked them.

³¹ But Jehu was not careful to follow the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart; he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam that he caused Israel to commit.^(A)

¹⁶ He said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he^[a] had him ride in his chariot.^(A)

⁸ He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.^{(A) 9} Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatted calves,^[a] and the lambs, and all that was valuable and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.^(B)

⁴⁴ Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan!”^(A)

³ But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,^{(A) 4} they on their part acted with cunning: they went and prepared provisions^[a] and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and wineskins, worn out and torn and mended, ⁵ with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet and worn-out clothes, and all their provisions were dry and moldy. ⁶ They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the Israelites, “We have come from a far country, so now make a treaty with us.”^{(B) 7} But the Israelites said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a treaty with you?”^{(C) 8} They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”^{(D) 9} They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of the Lord your God, for we have heard a report of him, of all that he did in Egypt^{(E) 10} and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth.^{(F) 11} So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey; go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; come now, make a treaty with us.” ’ ¹² Here is our bread; it was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey, on the day we set out to come to you, but now, see, it is dry and moldy; ¹³ these wineskins were new when we filled them, and see, they are burst, and these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” ¹⁴ So the leaders^[b] partook of their provisions and did not ask direction from the Lord.^{(G) 15} And Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.^(H)

¹⁶ But when three days had passed after they had made a treaty with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and were living among them. ¹⁷ So the Israelites set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.^{(I) 18} But the Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders.^{(J) 19} But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we must not touch them. ²⁰ This is what we will do to them: we will let them live, so that wrath may not come upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” ²¹ The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the leaders had decided concerning them.^(K)