They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
They acted cleverly and deceptively, pretending to be official messengers from a distant land. They loaded their donkeys with old, worn-out sacks and old, cracked wineskins that had been patched up.
The Gibeonites used clever deception, disguising themselves with old, worn-out supplies to make it look like they had traveled from far away.
📚 Historical Context
This verse describes the Gibeonites' plan to deceive Joshua and the Israelites after hearing how God had given Israel victory over Jericho and Ai. The Gibeonites lived nearby in Canaan and knew they would be destroyed like other Canaanite cities, so they devised this trick to make a peace treaty. In ancient times, ambassadors from distant lands would naturally have worn, patched supplies after a long journey.
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