Joshua 9
Legacy Standard Bible
The Gibeonites Act Craftily
9 Now it happened when (A)all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the [a]Shephelah and on all the (B)coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, (C)the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it, 2 that they gathered themselves together with [b](D)one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.
3 Now the inhabitants of (E)Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai. 4 So they also acted craftily and went and traveled as envoys and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and [c]mended, 5 and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and was crumbled. 6 And they went to Joshua to the (F)camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; so now, cut a covenant with us.” 7 Then the men of Israel said to the (G)Hivites, “Perhaps you are living [d]within our land; (H)how then shall we cut a covenant with you?” 8 But they said to Joshua, “(I)We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, “Your servants have come from (J)a very far country because of the [e]fame of Yahweh your God; for (K)we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt, 10 and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them and say to them, “(L)We are your servants; now then, cut a covenant with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we took it for our provisions out of our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. 13 And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out because of the very long journey.” 14 So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but (M)they did not ask for the [f]command of Yahweh. 15 (N)And Joshua made peace with them and cut a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
16 Now it happened at the end of three days after they had cut a covenant with them, that they heard that they were near them and that they were living [g]nearly among them. 17 Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were (O)Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the sons of Israel did not strike them down because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. 19 Then all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel, so now we cannot touch them. 20 This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be upon us for the oath which we swore to them.” 21 So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” Thus they became (P)hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.
22 Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ (Q)when you are living nearly in the midst of us? 23 So now, you are (R)cursed, and [h]you shall never be cut loose from being slaves, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 So they answered Joshua and said, “(S)Because it was certainly told to your slaves that Yahweh your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you; therefore we feared greatly for our lives because of you and have done this thing. 25 So now, behold, (T)we are in your hands; do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.” 26 Thus he did to them and delivered them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day, (U)in the place which He would choose.
Footnotes
- Joshua 9:1 Or lowland
- Joshua 9:2 Lit one mouth
- Joshua 9:4 Lit tied up
- Joshua 9:7 Lit among us
- Joshua 9:9 Or name
- Joshua 9:14 Lit mouth
- Joshua 9:16 Or in the midst of them
- Joshua 9:23 Lit a slave shall not be cut off from you
Joshua 9
Expanded Bible
The Gibeonite Trickery
9 All the kings ·west of [L beyond] the Jordan River heard about these things: the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They lived in the ·mountains [hill country] and ·on the western foothills [or in the lowlands/L Shephelah] and along the whole ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea coast. 2 So all these kings gathered to fight Joshua and the Israelites.
3 When the ·people [inhabitants] of Gibeon heard ·how Joshua had defeated [L what Joshua had done to] Jericho and Ai, 4 they decided to trick the Israelites. They gathered old sacks and old ·leather wine bags [wineskins] that were cracked and mended, and they put them on the backs of their donkeys. 5 They put ·old [L worn and patched] sandals on their feet and wore ·old [ragged] clothes, and they took some dry, ·moldy [or crumbling] bread. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp near Gilgal [4:19].
The men said to Joshua and the ·Israelites [L men of Israel], “We have traveled from a faraway country. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.”
7 The ·Israelites [men of Israel] said to these Hivites, “Maybe you live near us. How can we make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you [Deut. 20:10–18]?”
8 The Hivites said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
But Joshua asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”
9 The men answered, “We are your servants who have come from a far country, because we heard of the ·fame [reputation; L name] of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done and everything he did in Egypt. 10 We heard that he defeated the two kings of the Amorites ·from the east side of [L who were beyond] the Jordan River—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan who ·ruled [L was] in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and ·our people [L all the inhabitants of our country] said to us, ‘Take ·food [provisions] for your journey and go and meet ·the Israelites [L them]. Tell them, “We are your servants. Make a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with us.” ’
12 “Look at our bread. On the day we left home to come to you it was warm and fresh, but now [L look; T behold] it is dry and ·moldy [or crumbling]. 13 Look at our ·leather wine bags [wineskins]. They were new and filled with wine, but now they ·are cracked and old [are ripped; or have burst]. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long journey.”
14 The men of Israel ·tasted [or examined; L took some of] the bread, but they did not ·ask the Lord what to do [seek the Lord’s guidance]. 15 So Joshua agreed to make peace with the Gibeonites and to let them live. And the leaders of the Israelites ·swore an oath to keep the agreement [L swore to them].
16 Three days after they had made the ·agreement [covenant; treaty], the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites ·lived nearby [L were neighbors and lived in their midst]. 17 So the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] went to where they lived and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] did not attack those cities, because they had ·made a promise [L sworn] to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.
·All the Israelites [The whole assembly/congregation] grumbled against the leaders. 19 But [L all] the leaders answered, “We ·have given our promise [L swore (an oath)] before the Lord, the God of Israel, so we cannot ·attack [L touch] them now. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live. Otherwise, ·God’s anger [L wrath] will ·be against [come upon] us for breaking the oath we swore to them. 21 So let them live, but they will cut wood and carry water for ·our people [the whole congregation].” ·So the leaders kept their promise to them [or…as the leaders had decided].
22 Joshua called for the Gibeonites and asked, “Why did you ·lie to [deceive; trick] us? ·Your land was near our camp [L You live among us], but you told us you were from a far country. 23 Now, you will be placed under a curse to ·be our slaves [never cease being slaves/servants]. You will have to cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”
24 The Gibeonites answered Joshua, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us. ·We heard [L It was clearly/with certainty reported to your servants] that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land and to ·kill [destroy] all the people who lived in it [Deut. 20:15–18]. That is why we did this. 25 Now [L look; T behold] ·you can decide what [L we are in your hands] to do with us, whatever you think is right.”
26 So Joshua saved their lives by not allowing the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] to kill them, 27 but he made the Gibeonites slaves. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites, and they did it for the altar of the Lord—·wherever he chose it to be [L at the place that he would choose; 1 Sam. 4:3; 1 Kin. 9:3]. They are still doing this today [2 Sam. 21:1–14].
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