Joshua 9

1 And it comes to pass, when all the kings who [are] beyond the Jordan, in the hill-country, and in the low-country, and in every haven of the Great Sea, toward Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, hear—

And it came to pass, when all the kings who were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea opposite Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard these things;

2 that they gather themselves together to fight with Joshua, and with Israel—[with] one mouth.

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

3 And the inhabitants of Gibeon have heard that which Joshua has done to Jericho and to Ai,

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

4 and they work, even they, with subtlety, and go, and feign to be ambassadors, and take old sacks for their donkeys, and wine-bottles, old, and split, and bound up,

They also worked deceitfully, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their donkeys, and wine bottles, old, and torn, and bound up;

5 and sandals, old and patched, on their feet, and old garments on them, and all the bread of their provision is dry—it was crumbs.

And old and patched shoes upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.

6 And they go to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and say to him, and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far-off land, and now, make a covenant with us”;

And they 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 ye a league with us.

7 and the men of Israel say to the Hivite, “It may be [that] you are dwelling in our midst, so how do we make a covenant with you?”

And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?

8 And they say to Joshua, “We [are] your servants.” And Joshua says to them, “Who [are] you? And where do you come from?”

And they said to Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are ye? and where did you come from?

9 And they say to him, “Your servants have come from a very far-off land, for the Name of your God YHWH, for we have heard His fame, and all that He has done in Egypt,

And they said to him, From a very far country thy servants have 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 has done to the two kings of the Amorite who [are] beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who [is] in Ashtaroth.

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, who was at Ashtaroth.

11 And our elderly, and all the inhabitants of our land speak to us, saying, Take provision in your hand for the way, and go to meet them, and you have said to them: We [are] your servants, and now, make a covenant with us;

Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.

12 this bread of ours—we provided ourselves with it hot out of our houses, on the day of our coming out to go to you, and now, behold, it is dry, and has been crumbs;

This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:

13 and these [are] the wine-bottles which we filled, new, and behold, they have split; and these, our garments and our sandals, have become old, from the exceeding greatness of the way.”

And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they are torn: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

14 And the men take of their provision, and have not asked the mouth of YHWH;

And the men took of their provisions, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.

15 and Joshua makes peace with them, and makes a covenant with them, to keep them alive; and the princes of the congregation swear to them.

And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation swore to them.

16 And it comes to pass, that at the end of three days after they have made a covenant with them, that they hear that they [are] their neighbors—that they are dwelling in their midst.

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 sons of Israel journey and come to their cities on the third day—and their cities [are] Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-Jearim—

And the children of Israel journeyed, and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.

18 and the sons of Israel have not struck them, for the princes of the congregation have sworn to them by YHWH, God of Israel, and all the congregation murmur against the princes.

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

19 And all the princes say to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by YHWH, God of Israel; and now, we are not able to come against them;

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

20 we do this to them, and have kept them alive, and wrath is not on us, because of the oath which we have sworn to them.”

This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we swore to them.

21 And the princes say to them, “They live, and are hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the princes spoke to them.”

And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.

22 And Joshua calls for them, and speaks to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, We are very far from you, yet you [are] dwelling in our midst?

And Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?

23 And now you are cursed, and none of you is cut off [from being] a servant, even hewers of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God.”

Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being slaves, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

24 And they answer Joshua and say, “Because it was certainly declared to your servants that your God YHWH commanded His servant Moses to give all the land to you, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and we fear greatly for ourselves because of you, and we do this thing;

And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how 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 greatly afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

25 and now, behold, we [are] in your hand, as [it is] good, and as [it is] right in your eyes to do to us—do.”

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

26 And he does to them so, and delivers them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they have not slain them;

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

27 and on that day Joshua makes them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of YHWH, to this day, at the place which He chooses.

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