Joshua 9
9
Guile of the Gibeonites
1Now it came about when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it, 2that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.
3When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4they also acted craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, 5and 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. 6They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” 7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we make a covenant with you?” 8But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord your God; for we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt, 10and 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. 11So 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, “We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12This our bread 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. 13These wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and these our clothes and our sandals are worn out because of the very long journey.” 14So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord. 15Joshua 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.
16It 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 within their land. 17Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. 18The sons of Israel did not strike 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. 19But 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. 20This 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.” 21The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.
22Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are living within our land? 23Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall never cease being slaves, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24So they answered Joshua and said, “Because it was certainly told your servants 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; therefore we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25Now behold, we are in your hands; do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.” 26Thus he did to them, and delivered them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27But Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place which He would choose.
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Joshua 9: NASB1995
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Joshua 9
9
The People from Gibeon Deceive Joshua
1When all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about these events, 2they joined together to fight Joshua and Israel. (They were the kings in the mountains, the foothills, and along the whole Mediterranean coast as far as Lebanon, the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.) #9:2 Part of verse 1 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 2 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
3When the people living in Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4they devised a scheme. They posed as messengers. They took worn-out sacks on their donkeys. Their wineskins were old, split, and patched. 5Their sandals were worn-out and repaired, and their clothes were tattered. All their bread was dried out and crumbling. 6They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. They told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country. Make a treaty with us right now.”
7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you’re living in this area? We wouldn’t be able to make a treaty with you.”
8They responded to Joshua, “We’re at your mercy.”
Joshua asked them, “Who are you, and where did you come from?”
9They answered him, “We came from a country very far away because the Lord your God has become famous. We heard stories about him and everything he did in Egypt. 10We also heard everything he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth. 11Our leaders and everyone who lives in our country told us, ‘Take what you need for the trip, and go meet them. Tell them, “We’re at your mercy. Make a treaty with us right now.” ’ 12Our bread was warm when we left home to meet with you. Look at it now! It’s dry and crumbling. 13These were new wineskins when we filled them. Look at them now! See how they are splitting! Our clothes and sandals are also worn-out because we have come such a long way.”
14The men believed the evidence they were shown, but they did not ask the Lord about it. 15So Joshua made peace with them by making a treaty which allowed them to live. The leaders of the congregation swore to it with an oath.
16But three days after the treaty was made, the Israelites heard that these people were their neighbors and lived with them. 17The Israelites broke camp. They came to the cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim two days later. 18The Israelites didn’t destroy these other people, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath about them to the Lord God of Israel. The whole congregation complained about the leaders. 19But all the leaders said to them, “We have sworn an oath about them to the Lord God of Israel, so we cannot touch them now. 20We must let them live to avoid ⌞the Lord’s⌟ anger because of the oath we swore.” 21The leaders said that they should be allowed to live. So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, as the leaders had said.
22Joshua sent for the people of Gibeon and asked, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when you live here with us? 23You are under a curse now. You will always be servants. You will be woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24They answered Joshua, “We were told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and destroy all who live there. We deceived you because we feared for our lives. 25Now we’re at your mercy. Do to us what you think is good and right.”
26So Joshua rescued them and did not let the people of Israel kill them. 27But that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation. They served the Lord’s altar, wherever he chose to put it. They still serve today.
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