Joshua 9:14

14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.

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Joshua 9:14 in Other Translations

KJV

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

ESV

14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD.

NLT

14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD .

MSG

14 The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn't ask God about it.

CSB

14 Then the men [of Israel] took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord's counsel.

Joshua 9:14 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 9:14

And the men took of their victuals
That is, the princes of Israel took thereof; not to eat of them, for it cannot be thought that such personages would eat of such dry and mouldy bread, and especially as they were now in a plentiful country, and possessed of the fruits of it; but to see whether it was in such a plight and condition as they said, whereby they might judge of the truth of what they said; and they learned and knew, as R. Jonah observes, from the dryness of their food, that it was truth they said; and so the Targum, the men hearkened to their words; and so Jarchi, they believed what they said on sight of their provisions; but, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, they ate with them, to confirm the covenant they made with them; but had this been the case, as it sometimes was a custom to eat together at making covenants, see ( Genesis 26:30 ) ; the princes would doubtless have provided a better entertainment for such a purpose: the "margin" of our Bibles leads to the other sense,

``they received the men by reason of their victuals:''

and asked not [counsel] at the mouth of the Lord;
as they might and should have done, by desiring the high priest to inquire of the Lord by Urim and Thummim; but this they neglected, which, had they attended to, the fraud would have been discovered; or however, they would have had the mind of God about making peace with the Gibeonites, which in all likelihood he would not have disapproved of, they becoming proselytes, and giving up their possessions to Israel; but this did not excuse their neglect.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible