Joshua 9:3-13

Other Translations of Joshua 9:3-13

New International Version

³ However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loadedMost Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) "They prepared provisions and loaded their donkeys" with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us." ⁷ The Israelites said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?" ⁸ "We are your servants," they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?" ⁹ They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan-Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." ' ¹² This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. ¹³ And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."

English Standard Version

³ But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, ⁴ they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, ⁵ with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. ⁶ And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us." ⁷ But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?" ⁸ They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you? And where do you come from?" ⁹ They said to him, "From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, 'Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, "We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us."' ¹² Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. ¹³ These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey."

The Message

³ The people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai ⁴ and cooked up a ruse. They posed as travelers: their donkeys loaded with patched sacks and mended wineskins, ⁵ threadbare sandals on their feet, tattered clothes on their bodies, nothing but dry crusts and crumbs for food. ⁶ They came to Joshua at Gilgal and spoke to the men of Israel, "We've come from a far-off country; make a covenant with us." ⁷ The men of Israel said to these Hivites, "How do we know you aren't local people? How could we then make a covenant with you?" ⁸ They said to Joshua, "We'll be your servants." Joshua said, "Who are you now? Where did you come from?" ⁹ They said, "From a far-off country, very far away. Your servants came because we'd heard such great things about God, your God - all those things he did in Egypt! ¹⁰ And the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth! ¹¹ Our leaders and everybody else in our country told us, 'Pack up some food for the road and go meet them. Tell them, We're your servants; make a covenant with us.' ¹² "This bread was warm from the oven when we packed it and left to come and see you. Now look at it - crusts and crumbs. ¹³ And our cracked and mended wineskins, good as new when we filled them. And our clothes and sandals, in tatters from the long, hard traveling."

New King James Version

³ But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and 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, 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." ⁷ Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?" ⁸ But they said to Joshua, "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you, and where do you come from?" 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, ¹⁰ and 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."

New Living Translation

³ But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. ⁵ They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy. ⁶ When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us." ⁷ The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you." ⁸ They replied, "We are your servants." "But who are you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do you come from?" ⁹ They answered, "Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt. ¹⁰ We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River-King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth). ¹¹ So our elders and all our people instructed us, 'Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, "We are your servants; please make a treaty with us."' ¹² "This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. ¹³ These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey."