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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Gibeonites Save Themselves by Trickery
9 Now when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—heard of this,(A) 2 they gathered together with one accord to fight Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,(B) 4 they on their part acted with cunning: they went and prepared provisions[a] and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and wineskins, worn out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet and worn-out clothes, and all their provisions were dry and moldy. 6 They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the Israelites, “We have come from a far country, so now make a treaty with us.”(C) 7 But the Israelites said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a treaty with you?”(D) 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”(E) 9 They 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 a report of him, of all that he did in Egypt(F) 10 and of all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth.(G) 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey; go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; come now, make a treaty with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread; it was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey, on the day we set out to come to you, but now, see, it is dry and moldy; 13 these wineskins were new when we filled them, and see, they are burst, and these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the leaders[b] partook of their provisions and did not ask direction from the Lord.(H) 15 And Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.(I)
16 But when three days had passed after they had made a treaty with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and were living among them. 17 So the Israelites set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.(J) 18 But the Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders.(K) 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we must not touch them. 20 This is what we will do to them: we will let them live, so that wrath may not come upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the leaders had decided concerning them.(L)
22 Joshua summoned them and said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ while in fact you are living among us?(M) 23 Now, therefore, you are cursed, and some of you shall always be slaves, woodcutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.”(N) 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, so we were in great fear for our lives because of you and did this thing.(O) 25 And now we are in your hand: do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.”(P) 26 This is what he did for them: he saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 But on that day Joshua made them woodcutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to continue to this day, in the place that he should choose.(Q)
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