1 T he kings west of the Jordan, in the hill country and the valleys and beside the Great Sea toward Lebanon all heard what had happened. These kings were of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Depois sucedeu que, ouvindo isto todos os reis que estavam além do Jordão, na região montanhosa, na baixada e em toda a costa do grande mar, defronte do Líbano, os heteus, os amorreus, os cananeus, os perizeus, os heveus, e os jebuseus

2 T hey gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

se ajuntaram de comum acordo para pelejar contra Josué e contra Israel.

3 T he people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai.

Ora, os moradores de Gibeão, ouvindo o que Josué fizera a Jericó e a Ai.

4 S o they went out to fool him, as men from another land. They took old bags on their donkeys, and skin bags of wine that were old and torn and mended.

usaram de astúcia: foram e se fingiram embaixadores, tomando sacos velhos sobre os seus jumentos, e odres de vinho velhos, rotos e recosidos,

5 T hey wore old and mended shoes on their feet, and old clothes on themselves. All their bread was dry and broken.

tendo nos seus pés sapatos velhos e remendados, e trajando roupas velhas; e todo o pão que traziam para o caminho era seco e bolorento.

6 T hey went to Joshua among the tents at Gilgal. And they said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. Now make an agreement with us.”

E vieram a Josué, ao arraial em Gilgal, e disseram a ele e aos homens de Israel: Somos vindos duma terra longínqua; fazei, pois, agora pacto conosco.

7 T he men of Israel said to the Hivites, “It may be that you are living within our land. How then can we make an agreement with you?”

Responderam os homens de Israel a estes heveus: Bem pode ser que habiteis no meio de nós; como pois faremos pacto convosco?

8 B ut they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

Então eles disseram a Josué: Nós somos teus servos. Ao que lhes perguntou Josué: Quem sois vós? e donde vindes?

9 T hey 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 about Him and all He did in Egypt.

Responderam-lhe: Teus servos vieram duma terra mui distante, por causa do nome do Senhor teu Deus, porquanto ouvimos a sua fama, e tudo o que fez no Egito,

10 W e heard what He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth.

e tudo o que fez aos dois reis dos amorreus, que estavam além do Jordão, a Siom, rei de Hesbom, e a Ogue, rei de Basã, que estava em Astarote.

11 S o our leaders and all the people of our country said to us, ‘Take what you need for traveling. Go to meet them and tell them, “We are your servants. Now make an agreement with us.’”

Pelo que nossos anciãos e todos os moradores da nossa terra nos falaram, dizendo: Tomai nas mãos provisão para o caminho, e ide-lhes ao encontro, e dizei-lhes: Nós somos vossos servos; fazei, pois, agora pacto conosco.

12 O ur bread was warm when we took it along with what we needed from our houses on the day we left to come to you. But now look, it is dry and broken.

Este nosso pão tomamo-lo quente das nossas casas para nossa provisão, no dia em que saímos para vir ter convosco, e ei-lo aqui agora seco e bolorento;

13 T hese skin bags that we filled with wine were new. Now look, they are torn. And our clothes and shoes have become old because of the very long way we had to travel.”

estes odres, que enchemos de vinho, eram novos, e ei-los aqui já rotos; e esta nossa roupa e nossos sapatos já envelheceram em razão do mui longo caminho.

14 S o the men of Israel took some of their food. They did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Então os homens de Israel tomaram da provisão deles, e não pediram conselho ao Senhor.

15 J oshua made peace with them and made an agreement with them, to let them live. And the leaders of the people made a promise to them.

Assim Josué fez paz com eles; também fez um pacto com eles, prometendo poupar-lhes a vida; e os príncipes da congregação lhes prestaram juramento.

16 B ut three days after they had made an agreement with them, they heard that they were neighbors who lived in their land.

Três dias depois de terem feito pacto com eles, ouviram que eram vizinhos e que moravam no meio deles.

17 T hen the people of Israel left that place and came to their cities on the third day. Their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim.

Tendo partido os filhos de Israel, chegaram ao terceiro dia

18 B ut the people of Israel did not kill them because the leaders of the people had made a promise to them by the Lord the God of Israel. All the people complained against the leaders.

Mas os filhos de Israel não os mataram, porquanto os príncipes da congregação lhes haviam prestado juramento pelo Senhor, o Deus de Israel; pelo que toda a congregação murmurava contra os príncipes.

19 T hen all the leaders said to all the people, “We have made a promise to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Now we cannot touch them.

Mas os príncipes disseram a toda a congregação: Nós lhes prestamos juramento pelo Senhor, o Deus de Israel, e agora não lhes podemos tocar.

20 T his is what we will do to them. We will let them live, or anger would be upon us for the promise we swore to them.”

Isso cumpriremos para com eles, poupando-lhes a vida, para que não haja ira sobre nós, por causa do juramento que lhes fizemos.

21 A nd the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they cut wood and brought water for all the people, as the leaders had told them.

Disseram, pois, os príncipes: Vivam. Assim se tornaram rachadores de lenha e tiradores de água para toda a congregação, como os príncipes lhes disseram.

22 J oshua called them and said, “Why have you lied to us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are living within our land?

Então Josué os chamou, e lhes disse: Por que nos enganastes, dizendo: Mui longe de vós habitamos, morando vós no meio de nós?

23 N ow you are cursed. You will never stop being servants, cutting wood and bringing water, for the house of my God.”

Agora, pois, sois malditos, e dentre vós nunca deixará de haver servos, rachadores de lenha e tiradores de água para a casa do meu Deus.

24 T hey answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants that the Lord your God had told His servant Moses to give you all the land and kill all the people of the land in front of you. We were very much afraid for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this thing.

Respondendo a Josué, disseram: Porquanto foi anunciado aos teus servos que o Senhor teu Deus ordenou a Moisés, seu servo, que vos desse toda esta terra, e destruísse todos os seus moradores diante de vós, temíamos muito pelas nossas vidas por causa de vós, e fizemos isso.

25 N ow see, we are in your hands. Do to us whatever you think is good and right in your eyes.”

E eis que agora estamos na tua mão; faze aquilo que te pareça bom e reto que se nos faça.

26 S o he did this to them. He saved them from the hands of the people of Israel. They did not kill them.

Assim pois ele lhes fez, e livrou-os das mãos dos filhos de Israel, de sorte que estes não os mataram.

27 B ut on that day Joshua made them cut wood and bring water for the people of Israel and for the altar of the Lord, at whatever place He chooses. That was to be their work to this day.

Mas, naquele dia, Josué os fez rachadores de lenha e tiradores de água para a congregação e para o altar do Senhor, no lugar que ele escolhesse, como ainda o são.