Joshua 9
English Standard Version
The Gibeonite Deception
9 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan (A)in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast (B)of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, (C)the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the inhabitants of (D)Gibeon heard what Joshua had done (E)to Jericho and (F)to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions 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 crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in (G)the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to (H)the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then (I)how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, (J)“We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, (K)“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. (L)For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 (M)and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in (N)Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant 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, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but (O)did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And Joshua (P)made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors (Q)and that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. (R)Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel 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. 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 may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest (S)wrath be upon us, (T)because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became (U)cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders (V)had said of them.
22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, (W)‘We are very far from you,’ when (X)you dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, (Y)cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had (Z)commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so (AA)we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day (AB)cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, (AC)in the place that he should choose.
Joshua 9
Authorized (King James) Version
9 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2 that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.
3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 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; 5 and old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13 and these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. 14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. 15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. 18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. 19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. 21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? 23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. 24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. 26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. 27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.
Joshua 9
The Voice
It’s important to remember who you are and what you’re fighting for. By gathering everyone and reading the law of Moses to them, Joshua unites the people of Israel in their shared past, present, and future and orients them toward God in their new land.
9 Now when the kings of the land who were beyond the Jordan in the highlands and along the coast of the Mediterranean—the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—heard what had happened, 2 they unified to oppose Joshua and Israel.
3 But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, had a different idea when they heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai. 4 Knowing that Joshua might turn his attention to them next, they decided to use their wits, not their military might. They formed a delegation to serve as envoys and gathered the most worn-out sacks for their donkeys and worn-out, patched-up wineskins they could find. 5 They took some ragged sandals and patched them. They dressed in threadbare clothes—all so it would look as though they had come from far away. Even the food they carried was dry and moldy, as though it had been carried a long distance.
6 These envoys went to Gilgal to meet with Joshua and the men of Israel.
Gibeonite Envoys (to Joshua and the men of Israel): We have traveled from a far country and beg you to make a treaty of peace with us.
Israelites: 7 How can we make a treaty with you? How do we know you aren’t from around here?
The words from the Lord in Deuteronomy are very clear: Do not make a covenant or show favor with anyone in the land. This instruction, of course, is broken many times by Israel (Deuteronomy 7:2).
Gibeonite Envoys (to Joshua): 8 We are your servants.
Joshua: Who are you? Where do you come from?
Gibeonite Envoys: 9 Your servants have made the journey from a distant country because even there the name of the Eternal One your God is in the air. We have heard of what He did for you in Egypt 10 and what He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan (King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth). 11 So our elders gathered us together and directed us to take provisions for a long journey so we could tell you we are your servants. Please, we beg you, make a treaty with us.
12 Look. Here is all that remains of our bread. It was fresh, warm from the oven, when we set out, but now it is nothing but mold and crumbs. 13 And these patched-up wineskins were new and full when we left home. And our clothes, our sandals are worn—you can see that we have traveled a very long way.
14 The leaders did not consult the Eternal. They broke bread with the messengers, 15 and Joshua offered them a treaty of peace, with the leaders of Israel swearing an oath to bind it.
16 Three days after they had sworn peace with these deceptive messengers, they discovered the visitors were Gibeonites from the land of Canaan, their neighbors, who, in fact, were living in part of the land God had promised the Israelites. 17 So the Israelites went to their cities: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim on the third day, 18 but they did not attack them. Even though they had been tricked into making a treaty, an oath made in the name of the Eternal was sacred. The people of Israel grumbled and complained against their leaders, 19 but they replied to the entire congregation.
Leaders: Look, we have sworn an oath in the name of the Eternal God of Israel, and we must not touch them. 20 If we attack them now and break our word, God’s anger will fall on us. Let them live and serve us.
21 So the leaders kept their promise to the Gibeonites who became servants of the entire congregation, cutting their wood and drawing their water.
22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonite leaders.
Joshua (to the Gibeonite leaders): Why did you lie to us? Why did you claim to be from far away when really you lived right here among us? 23 Your lie comes with a curse. You will live, but you will always be our slaves, carrying our water and chopping wood for the sanctuary of my True God from now on.
Gibeonite Leaders (to Joshua): 24 We knew for a fact that the Eternal One, your True God, had told His servant Moses that He would give you all of this land and that you would destroy all of the people in it. We were so afraid of you that this seemed the best thing to do. 25 But now we are in your hands. Do to us what seems fair and just to you, and we will accept it.
26 So Joshua spared the Gibeonites from the people of Israel and certain death 27 but made them servants of the people of Israel, chopping their wood and carrying their water, serving the Eternal’s sanctuary from that time on, in whatever place he chose as he directed them.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.