Joshua 9
New American Standard Bible
Deception by the Gibeonites
9 Now it came about when (A)all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, the lowland, 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 about it, 2 that they met together with (D)one [a]purpose, to fight with Joshua and with Israel.
3 The inhabitants of (E)Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched, 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 had become crumbled. 6 And they went to Joshua at the (F)camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to the (G)Hivites, “Perhaps you are living [b]within our land; (H)how then are we to make a covenant with you?” 8 So 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 distant country because of the [c]fame of the Lord your God; for (K)we have heard the report about 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 in 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, make a covenant with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from 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 split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and (M)did not ask for the [d]counsel of the Lord. 15 And (N)Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
16 However, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living [e]within their land. 17 Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were (O)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the sons of Israel did not [f]attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. 20 This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them.” 21 So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” And they became (P)gatherers of firewood and [g]labor to draw 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 [h]within our land? 23 Now therefore, you are (R)cursed, and [i]you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and [j]labor to draw water for the house of my God.” 24 So they answered Joshua and said, “(S)Since your servants were fully informed 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, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing. 25 And now behold, (T)we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight to do.” 26 This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But on that day Joshua made them gatherers of firewood and [k]labor to draw water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, (U)in the place which He would choose.
Footnotes
- Joshua 9:2 Lit mouth
- Joshua 9:7 Lit among us
- Joshua 9:9 Or name
- Joshua 9:14 Lit mouth
- Joshua 9:16 Lit in the middle of it
- Joshua 9:18 Lit strike
- Joshua 9:21 Lit people drawing
- Joshua 9:22 Lit among us
- Joshua 9:23 Lit a servant will not be cut off from you
- Joshua 9:23 Lit people drawing
- Joshua 9:27 Lit people drawing
Joshua 9
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 9[a]
United against Israel. 1 When all of the kings on that side of the Jordan heard about these things; those who were in the hill country, those on the western slopes, and those along the coast to the great sea, all the way up to Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
Plot of the Gibeonites. 3 But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai 4 and they devised a cunning plot. They prepared provisions, collecting them and putting them into old sacks upon their donkeys, along with old wineskins that were torn and mended. 5 They put old mended sandals on their feet, and dressed in old clothing, making sure that all of their provisions were dried out and crumbling. 6 They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and to the people of Israel, “We have come here from a distant country, so make a covenant with us.” 7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “Maybe you actually live among us, how could we make a covenant with you?” 8 They then said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, “We, your servants, come from a very distant land because of the name of the Lord, your God. We have heard reports about him and everything that he did in Egypt 10 and everything that he did to the two kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan; Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth. 11 Our elders and everyone who dwells in our land said to us, ‘Take some provisions for the journey and go to meet with them and say to them, “We are your servants, so please make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still hot from the oven when we took it out of our houses on the day we set out to come to you. Look at it now, it is dry and crumbling. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them. Look at them now, they are falling apart. These clothes and our shoes have become old because of the very long journey that we have made.”
14 The Israelites partook of some of their provisions, but they did not ask the counsel of the Lord.[b] 15 Joshua made peace with them; he made a covenant with them, permitting them to live. The leaders of the assembly also swore an oath to them.
16 Punishment of the Gibeonites. Three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were actually neighbors, and that they were living in their land. 17 The Israelites went out and arrived at their cities three days later. Their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not kill them, for the leaders of the assembly had made an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Everyone in the assembly, however, grumbled against their leaders. 19 All of the leaders said to the assembly, “We have made an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, so now we cannot touch them. 20 This is what we will do to them. We will let them live, lest wrath come upon us because of the oath we swore to them.” 21 So the leaders said to them, “Let them live. They will cut firewood and draw water for the whole assembly of Israel, just as the leaders promised them.”
22 Joshua then summoned them and he said to them, “You have deceived us by telling us that you came from a distant land when you actually live in our midst. 23 Now, therefore, you will be cursed, you shall always be slaves, cutting firewood and drawing water for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were informed on how the Lord, your God, commanded Moses, his servant, to give you all the land and to kill all of the inhabitants in the land ahead of you. We truly feared for our lives, for you would have done this thing. 25 So therefore, we are in your hands. Do whatever you consider to be right to us.” 26 And so this is what he did to them: he rescued them out of the hands of the Israelites so that they did not kill them, 27 but Joshua established them that day as the ones who would cut firewood and draw water for the assembly and for the altar of the Lord in the place that he would choose, which they still do today.
Footnotes
- Joshua 9:1 Another piece of evidence that the anathema was not carried out as systematically as some passages would seem to suggest.
- Joshua 9:14 By not seeking God’s guidance in dealing with the Canaanites, the Israelites would be bound by vows that should not have been made and stuck with an alliance that did not benefit them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
