Joshua 9

1 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;

All the kings west of the Jordan heard what had happened. These included the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who lived in the hill country, the lowlands, and along the coast as far as Lebanon.

2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

So they gathered to fight together as a united army against Joshua and the Israelites.

3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their donkeys, and wine skins, old, and rent, and bound up;

they decided on a cunning plan. They sent messengers to Joshua, their donkeys wearing worn-out saddles and carrying old wineskins that were torn and patched.

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.

They put on worn sandals that had been mended and wore old clothes. All their bread was dry and moldy.

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.

They went to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and told him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a land far away, so please make a treaty 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?

But the Israelites said to the Hivites, “Maybe you live close by. If you do, we cannot make a treaty 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?

“We are your servants,” they replied. “But who are you? Where do you come from?” Joshua asked.

9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of Yhwh thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

“Your servants have come from a land far away,” they replied. “For we have heard of the reputation of the Lord your God, and reports of 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.

and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan—to Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who ruled in 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.

So our leaders and everyone who lives in our land told us: Take what you need with you for the journey. Go and meet with them, and tell them, ‘We are your servants. Please make a treaty 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:

Look at this bread. It was warm when we took it from our houses on the day we set out to come here. But now it's dry and moldy, as you can see.

13 And these skins 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.

These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look at them now—they're split and damaged. These clothes of ours and our sandals are all worn out because the journey took so long.”

14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of Yhwh.

The Israelites tried some of the food. However, they did not consult 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.

Then Joshua made a treaty with them, promising to spare their lives, and the leaders of the assembly swore an oath to guarantee it.

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.

Three days after they had made the treaty, the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites lived nearby, right 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.

The Israelites left to go to the Gibeonite towns, and arrived there on the third day. The towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim.

18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by Yhwh God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.

But the Israelites did not attack them because of the treaty sworn by the leaders of the assembly in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. At this all the Israelites protested against the leaders.

19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by Yhwh God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.

But the leaders replied to the people, “We swore to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, so we cannot lay a hand on them now.

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.

So this is what we're going to do to them. We'll let them live, so that we won't be punished for breaking the oath that we swore to 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.

The leaders concluded, “Let them live.” So the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water-carriers in service to the entire assembly, as the Israelite leaders had ordered.

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?

Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and asked them, “Why did you trick us? You told us, ‘We live a long way from you,’ but you live right next door to 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.

Consequently you are under a curse. From now on you shall forever be servants, woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of my God.”

24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that Yhwh 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.

They answered Joshua, “We your servants were told very clearly that the Lord your God had ordered Moses to give you all this land, and that all its inhabitants were to be wiped out before you. So we really feared for our lives because of you. That's why we did what we did.

25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.

Now we're in your hands. Do to us what you think is right and just.”

26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.

Joshua did as he had said. He saved them from the Israelites, so that they did not kill them.

27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of Yhwh, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.

That day Joshua made them woodcutters and water-carriers in service to the entire assembly and for the altar of the Lord wherever the Lord should choose. That is what they do right up to this very day.