| King James Bible | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; | 1When all the kings heard about Jericho and Ai, those who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, in the Judean foothills, and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon--the Hethites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites-- |
| 2That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. | 2they formed a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel. |
| 3And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, | 3When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, |
| 4They 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; | 4they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. |
| 5And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. | 5They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. |
| 6And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. | 6They 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." |
| 7And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? | 7The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you?" |
| 8And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? | 8They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." Then Joshua asked them, "Who are you and where do you come from?" |
| 9And 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, | 9They replied to him, "Your servants have come from a faraway land because of the reputation of the LORD your God. For we have heard of his fame, and all that he did in Egypt, |
| 10And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. | 10and all that he did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan--King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. |
| 11Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. | 11So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, 'Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, "We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us."' |
| 12This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: | 12This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly. |
| 13And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. | 13These wineskins were new when we filled them; but see, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey." |
| 14And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. | 14Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the LORD's decision. |
| 15And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. | 15So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. |
| 16And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. | 16Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them. |
| 17And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim. | 17So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. |
| 18And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. | 18But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Then the whole community grumbled against the leaders. |
| 19But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. | 19All the leaders answered them, "We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. |
| 20This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. | 20This is how we will treat them: we will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them." |
| 21And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. | 21They also said, "Let them live." So the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had promised them. |
| 22And 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? | 22Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, "Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us? |
| 23Now 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. | 23Therefore you are cursed and will always be slaves--woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God." |
| 24And 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. | 24The Gibeonites answered him, "It was clearly communicated to your servants that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. |
| 25And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. | 25Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever you think is right." |
| 26And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. | 26This is what Joshua did to them: he rescued them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. |
| 27And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose. | 27On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers--as they are today--for the community and for the LORD's altar at the place he would choose. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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