Joshua 9:8-18

8 And they said to Joshua, We be thy servants. To whom Joshua said, What men be ye, and from whence came ye?
9 They answered, (We) Thy servants came from a full far land in the name of thy Lord God; for we have heard the fame of his power, and all (the) things which he did in Egypt,
10 and to the two kings of Amorites beyond (the) Jordan; to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, that were in Ashtaroth. (and to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan River; that is, to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and to Og, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.)
11 And the elder men and all the dwellers of our land said to us, Take ye meats in your hands, for the full long way; and go ye to them, and say ye, We be your servants; make ye bond of peace with us. (And the elders and all the citizens of our land said to us, Take ye food with you, for the very long way; and go ye to them, and say ye, We be your servants; make ye a covenant with us.)
12 And we took hot loaves, when we went out of our houses to come to you; (but) now they be made dry and broken, for great eldness;
13 we filled new bottles of wine (and we filled new bottles with wine); (but) now they be broken and unsewed; (and) the clothes and (the) shoes, with which we be clothed, and which we have on our feet, be broken and well nigh wasted, from the length of (the) long way.
14 Then they took of [the] meats of these men, and they asked not counsel of the Lord. (And they took some food from these men, but they did not ask any counsel from the Lord.)
15 And Joshua made peace with them. And when the bond of peace was made, he promised, that they should not be slain; and the princes of the multitude swore to them. (And so Joshua made peace with them. And when the covenant was made, he promised, that they would not be killed; and the leaders of the multitude swore to them as well. And they went away.)
16 And after three days of the bond of peace made, the men of Israel heard, that those men dwelled in nigh place, and that they should be soon among those men. (And three days after that the covenant was made, the Israelites heard that those men lived nearby, and that they would soon be among them.)
17 And the sons of Israel moved their tents, and came in the third day into the cities of them (And the Israelites moved their camp, and came on the third day into their cities), of which cities these be the names; Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriathjearim.
18 And Israel destroyed not them, for the princes of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Therefore all the common people grouched against the princes of Israel; (But Israel did not destroy them, for the leaders of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. And so all the common people grumbled against Israel's leaders;)

Joshua 9:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 9

This chapter gives an account of the combination of the several kings of Canaan against Israel, Jos 9:1,2; and of the craftiness of the Gibeonites, pretending they were ambassadors from a far country, and desired to enter into a league with Israel, which they obtained, Jos 9:3-15; but when it was discovered who they were, it occasioned a murmuring among the people, Jos 9:16-18; which the princes quelled by proposing to make them hewers of wood, and drawers of water, Jos 9:19-21; in order to which Joshua summoned them before him, and chided them for beguiling them; and after they had made their excuse, he ordered them to the service the princes proposed, and so peace in the congregation of Israel was preserved, Jos 9:21-27.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.