< Joshua 9 >
1 And it cometh 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, over-against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, hear —
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 gather themselves together to fight with Joshua, and with Israel — one mouth.
So they gathered to fight together as a united army against Joshua and the Israelites.
3 And the inhabitants of Gibeon have heard that which Joshua hath done to Jericho and to Ai,
But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4 and they work, even they, with subtilty, and go, and feign to be ambassadors, and take old sacks for their asses, and wine-bottles, 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 sandals, old and patched, on their feet, and old garments upon them, and all the bread of their provision is dry — it was crumbs.
They put on worn sandals that had been mended and wore old clothes. All their bread was dry and moldy.
6 And they go unto Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, and say unto him, and unto the men of Israel, 'From a land far off we have come, and now, make with us a covenant;'
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 say unto the Hivite, 'It may be in our midst ye are dwelling, and how do we make with thee a covenant?'
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 say unto Joshua, 'Thy servants we [are].' And Joshua saith unto them, 'Who [are] ye? and whence come ye?'
“We are your servants,” they replied. “But who are you? Where do you come from?” Joshua asked.
9 And they say unto him, 'From a land very far off have thy servants come, for the name of Jehovah thy God, for we have heard His fame, and all that He hath done 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 hath 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 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 'And our elders, and all the inhabitants of our land speak unto us, saying, Take in your hand provision for the way, and go to meet them, and ye have said unto them, Your servants we [are], and now, make with us a covenant;
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 — hot we provided ourselves with it out of our houses, on the day of our coming out to go unto you, and now, lo, it is dry, and hath been crumbs;
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 [are] the wine-bottles which we filled, new, and lo, they have rent; and these, our garments and our sandals, have become old, from the exceeding greatness of the way.'
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 take of their provision, and the mouth of Jehovah have not asked;
The Israelites tried some of the food. However, they did not consult the Lord.
15 and Joshua maketh with them peace, and maketh with them a covenant, to keep them alive; and swear to them do the princes of the company.
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 cometh to pass, at the end of three days after that they have made with them a covenant, that they hear that they [are] their neighbours — that in their midst they are dwelling.
Three days after they had made the treaty, the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites lived nearby, right among them!
17 And the sons of Israel journey and come in unto their cities on the third day — and their cities [are] 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 sons of Israel have not smitten them, for sworn to them have the princes of the company by Jehovah God of Israel, and all the company murmur 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 And all the princes say unto all the company, 'We — we have sworn to them by Jehovah, God of Israel; and now, we are not able to come against 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 do to them, and have kept them alive, and wrath is not upon us, because of the oath which we have sworn to 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 say unto them, 'They live, and are hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the company, as the princes spake to 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 calleth for them, and speaketh unto them, saying, 'Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you, and ye in our midst dwelling?
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 and now, cursed are ye, 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.'
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 answer Joshua and say, 'Because it was certainly declared to thy servants, that Jehovah thy God commanded Moses His servant to give to you all the land, 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;
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, lo, we [are] in thy hand, as [it is] good, and as [it is] right in thine eyes to do to us — do.'
Now we're in your hands. Do to us what you think is right and just.”
26 And he doth to them so, and delivereth them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they have not slain them;
Joshua did as he had said. He saved them from the Israelites, so that they did not kill them.
27 and Joshua maketh them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the company, and for the altar of Jehovah, unto this day, at the place which He doth 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.