Joshua 9

The Gibeonite Deception

1 And it came to pass when a all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of b the Great Sea toward Lebanon - c the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite - heard about it, 2 that they d gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one 1 accord.

3 But when the inhabitants of e Gibeon f heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they worked craftily, and went and 2 pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and 3 mended, 5 old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. 6 And they went to Joshua, g 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 a 4 covenant with us." 7 Then the men of Israel said to the h Hivites, "Perhaps you dwell among us; so i how can we make a covenant with you?" 8 But they said to Joshua, j "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you, and where do you come from?" 9 So they said to him: k "From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have l heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, 10 "and m all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan - to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. 11 "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; now therefore, make a covenant with us." ' 12 "This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. 13 "And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey." 14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; n but they 5 did not ask counsel of the LORD. 15 So Joshua o made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

16 And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. 17 Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were p Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. 18 But the children of Israel did not 6 attack them, q because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers. 19 Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, "We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. 20 "This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest r wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them." 21 And the rulers said to them, "Let them live, but let them be s woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had t promised them."

22 Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, "Why have you deceived us, saying, u 'We are very far from you,' when v you dwell near us? 23 "Now therefore, you are w cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves - woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God." 24 So they answered Joshua and said, "Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God x commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore y we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 "And now, here we are, z in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us." 26 So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. 27 And that day Joshua made them a woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, b in the place which He would choose, even to this day.

  1. Cross References
    Numbers 13:29
    "The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan."
    Joshua 3:10
    And Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites:
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 34:6
    As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border.
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 3:17
    "and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey."'
    Exodus 23:23
    For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
  4. Cross References
    Joshua 10:5
    Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.
    Psalms 83:3
    They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
    Psalms 83:5
    For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You:
  5. Cross References
    Joshua 9:17
    Then the children of Israel journeyed and came ...
    Joshua 9:22
    Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to th...
    Joshua 10:2
    That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a ...
    Joshua 21:17
    And from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its...
    2 Samuel 21:1
    Now there was a famine in the days of David for...
    2 Samuel 21:2
    So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to ...
  6. Cross References
    Joshua 6:27
    So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
  7. Cross References
    Joshua 5:10
    Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
  8. Cross References
    Joshua 9:1
    And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon - the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite - heard about it.
    Joshua 11:19
    There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle.
  9. Cross References
    Exodus 23:32
    You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
    Deuteronomy 7:2
    And when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 20:11
    And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.
    2 Kings 10:5
    And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.
  11. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 20:15
    Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.
  12. Cross References
    Exodus 15:14
    The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
    Joshua 2:9
    And said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
    Joshua 2:10
    For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
    Joshua 5:1
    So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
  13. Cross References
    Numbers 21:24
    Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified.
    Numbers 21:33
    And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
  14. Cross References
    Numbers 27:21
    "He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him - all the congregation."
    Isaiah 30:1
    Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin.
  15. Cross References
    2 Samuel 21:2
    So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
  16. Cross References
    Joshua 18:25
    Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth.
  17. Cross References
    Psalms 15:4
    In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.
  18. Cross References
    2 Samuel 21:1
    Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, " It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.
    2 Samuel 21:2
    So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
    2 Samuel 21:6
    "let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose." And the king said, "I will give them."
    Ezekiel 17:13
    And he took the king's offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land.
    Ezekiel 17:15
    But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?
  19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:11
    Your little ones and your wives - also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water -
  20. Cross References
    Joshua 9:15
    So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.
  21. Cross References
    Joshua 9:6
    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 a covenant with us.
    Joshua 9:9
    So they said to him: "From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt.
  22. Cross References
    Joshua 9:16
    And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them.
  23. Cross References
    Genesis 9:25
    Then he said: Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.
  24. Cross References
    Exodus 23:31 - 33
    And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
    Deuteronomy 7:1
    When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you.
    Deuteronomy 7:2
    And when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.
  25. Cross References
    Exodus 15:14
    The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
  26. Cross References
    Genesis 16:6
    So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
  27. Cross References
    Joshua 9:21
    And the rulers said to them, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.
    Joshua 9:23
    "Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves - woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God."
  28. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 12:5
    But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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