Joshua 9:24
22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?
23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.
- KJV
- And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
- WEB
- They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were certainly told how the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
- ASV
- And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that Jehovah thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
- DARBY
- And they answered Joshua and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants how that Jehovah thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing.
- BLB
- And they answered Joshua and said, “Because it was surely declared to your servants that YHWH your God commanded Moses His servant to give to you⁺ all the land and to destroy all those dwelling in the land from before you⁺, we were afraid exceedingly for our lives because of you⁺, and we have done this thing.
- ÅB
- De svarte Josva og sa: Dine tjenere hadde fått vite at Herren din Gud hadde sagt til Moses, sin tjener, at han ville gi dere hele landet og utrydde alle landets innbyggere for dere; da ble vi så redde for at dere skulle ta vårt liv; derfor gjorde vi dette.
- OTB
- De svarte Josva: “Dine tjenere ble klart informert om at Herren din Gud befalte sin tjener Moses å gi dere hele landet og å ødelegge alle dets innbyggere foran dere. Så vi fryktet sterkt for våre liv på grunn av dere, og det er derfor vi handlet slik.
- B1930
- De svarte Josva og sa: Dine tjenere hadde fått vite at Herren din Gud hadde sagt til Moses, sin tjener, at han vilde gi eder hele landet og utrydde alle landets innbyggere for eder; da blev vi så redde for at I skulde ta vårt liv; derfor gjorde vi dette.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Deuteronomy 7:1–2
When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, 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 thou;
Read in contextDeuteronomy 20:15–17
Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
Read in contextExodus 23:31–33
And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
Read in contextMatthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Read in contextNumbers 33:55–56
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
Read in contextJoshua 9:9
And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
Read in contextDeuteronomy 7:23–24
But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.
Read in contextJob 2:4
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
Read in context