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Joshua 9:1-27 — The Gibeonite Deception

Josh.9.1-27

¹Now it came about, when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan to the west heard of it—in the hill country, and in the lowland, and along all the coast of the Great Sea opposite Lebanon (the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite)— ²that they gathered together to fight against Joshua and against Israel with one accord. ³But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai. ⁴So they also acted with cunning, and went and disguised themselves as envoys. They took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and worn-out wineskins that were cracked and mended, ⁵and worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provisions was dry and crumbly. ⁶They went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; so now, make a covenant with us.” ⁷But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; how then can we make a covenant with you?” ⁸They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” ⁹They said to him, "Your servants have come from a very distant land because of the name of Yahweh your God, for we have heard the report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. ¹¹So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; so now, make a covenant with us.”' ¹²This bread of ours was warm when we packed it as provisions from our houses on the day we set out to come to you; but now, look, it is dry and has become crumbly. ¹³And these wineskins, which we filled when they were new, look, they are cracked. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out because of the very long journey." ¹⁴So the men took some of their provisions , but they did not ask from the mouth of Yahweh . ¹⁵Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. ¹⁶At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they were living among them. ¹⁷Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸But the sons of Israel did not strike them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. ¹⁹All the leaders said to the whole congregation, "We have sworn to them by Yahweh, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. ²⁰This is what we will do to them: we will let them live, so that wrath will not be upon us because of the oath that we swore to them." ²¹The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken concerning them. ²²Joshua summoned them and spoke to them, saying, "Why did you deceive us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you are living among us? ²³Now therefore you are cursed, and you shall never cease being slaves, both woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God." ²⁴They answered Joshua and said, "Because it was clearly told to your servants that Yahweh your God had commanded Moses his servant to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. So we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and we have done this thing. ²⁵And now, look, we are in your hand. Do to us whatever is good and right in your eyes to do." ²⁶So he did this to them, and he delivered them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. ²⁷On that day Joshua appointed them as woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of Yahweh, to this day, at the place that he would choose.

Translation Notes

4/11/2026

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