³² “Make no treaties with them or their gods.

² When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy^[a] them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.

¹² “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.

¹⁵ “You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them.

¹⁶ “You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you.

¹⁵ What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil^[a]? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

Moab Seduces Israel

25 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove,^[a] some of the men defiled themselves by having^[b] sexual relations with local Moabite women. ² These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.”

² So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out.

¹⁴ So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. ¹⁵ Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

¹⁶ Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby! ¹⁷ The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty. ¹⁹ But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them. ²⁰ This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath. ²¹ Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed.

²² Joshua called together the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us? ²³ May you be cursed! From now on you will always be servants who cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”