Joshua 9:4
2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
5 They put worn, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies, and their whole supply of bread was dry and moldy.
6 They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treaty with us.”
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
- acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
- KJV
- They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
- WEB
- they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and old, torn-up and bound up wineskins,
- ASV
- they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-skins, old and rent and bound up,
- DARBY
- then they also acted with craft, and they went prepared as on a journey, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-flasks, old and rent and tied up;
- BLB
- and they also worked craftily, and they went and acted as envoys, and they took old sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins [that were] old and torn and mended,
- ÅB
- da gikk de på sin side fram med list: De tok avsted og gav seg ut for sendebud; de la utslitte sekker på sine eseler og utslitte, sprukne og bøtede vinsekker;
- OTB
- handlet de med list og dro av sted med proviant, lastet sine esler med utslitte sekker og gamle vinssekker, sprukne og reparerte.
- B1930
- da gikk de på sin side frem med list: De tok avsted og gav sig ut for sendebud; de la utslitte sekker på sine asener og utslitte, sprukne og bøtede vinsekker;
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Matthew 10:16
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Read in contextLuke 5:37–38
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
Read in contextLuke 16:8
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
Read in contextMark 2:22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
Read in context1 Kings 20:31–33
Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
Read in contextMatthew 9:17
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Read in contextPsalms 119:83
Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
Read in contextGenesis 34:13
But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
Read in context