¹⁶ Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near^(A) them. ¹⁷ So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth^(B) and Kiriath Jearim.^{(C) 18} But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath^(D) to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled^(E) against the leaders, ¹⁹ but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now.