The Treaty with the Gibeonites

9 And it came to pass when ^(A)all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of ^(B)the Great Sea toward Lebanon—^(C)the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard about it, ² that they ^(D)gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one ^[a]accord.

³ But when the inhabitants of ^(E)Gibeon ^(F)heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they worked craftily, and went and ^[b]pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and ^[c]mended, ⁵ old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. ⁶ And they went to Joshua, ^(G)to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a ^[d]covenant with us.”

⁷ Then the men of Israel said to the ^(H)Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so ^(I)how can we make a covenant with you?”

⁸ But they said to Joshua, ^(J)“We are your servants.”

And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

⁹ So they said to him: ^(K)“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have ^(L)heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and ^(M)all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. ¹¹ Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” ’ ¹² This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. ¹³ And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”

¹⁴ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; ^(N)but they ^[e]did not ask counsel of the Lord. ¹⁵ So Joshua ^(O)made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

²¹ Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. ²² Then the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they ^(A)let none of them remain or escape. ²³ But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴ And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵ So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. ²⁶ For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had ^(B)utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ^27 (C)Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had ^(D)commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it ^(E)a heap forever, a desolation to this day. ^29 (F)And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. ^(G)And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and ^(H)raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.

Joshua Renews the Covenant^(I)

³⁰ Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel ^(J)in Mount Ebal, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: ^(K)“an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And ^(L)they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. ³² And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, ^(M)he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. ³³ Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, ^(N)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ^(O)the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, ^(P)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ And afterward ^(Q)he read all the words of the law, ^(R)the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the ^(S)Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, ^(T)with the women, the little ones, ^(U)and the strangers who were living among them.

^16 (A)“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” ¹⁷ then He adds, ^(B)“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ Now where there is ^[a]remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Hold Fast Your Confession

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having ^(C)boldness^[b] to enter ^(D)the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and ^(E)living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us ^(F)draw near with a true heart ^(G)in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^(H)He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ^25 (I)not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and ^(J)so much the more as you see ^(K)the Day approaching.

The Just Live by Faith

²⁶ For ^(L)if we sin willfully ^(M)after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there ^(N)no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and ^(O)fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three ^(P)witnesses. ^29 (Q)Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, ^(R)counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, ^(S)and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, ^(T)“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” ^[c]says the Lord. And again, ^(U)“The Lord will judge His people.” ^31 (V)It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² But ^(W)recall the former days in which, after you were ^[d]illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: ³³ partly while you were made ^(X)a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while ^(Y)you became companions of those who were so treated; ³⁴ for you had compassion on ^[e]me ^(Z)in my chains, and ^(AA)joyfully accepted the plundering of your ^[f]goods, knowing that ^(AB)you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves ^[g]in heaven. ³⁵ Therefore do not cast away your confidence, ^(AC)which has great reward. ^36 (AD)For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, ^(AE)you may receive the promise:

³⁹ But we are not of those ^(AI)who draw back to ^[k]perdition, but of those who ^(AJ)believe to the saving of the soul.