Joshua 9:23-27

9:23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” ¹  9:24 They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects ²  how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified ³  we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. 9:25 So now we are in your power. ⁴  Do to us what you think is good and appropriate. ⁵  9:26 Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them ⁶  9:27 and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.) ⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “Now you are cursed and a servant will not be cut off from you, woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

² tn Heb “your servants.”

³ tn Or “we were very afraid.”

⁴ tn Heb “so now, look, we are in your hand.”

⁵ tn Heb “according to what is good and according to what is upright in your eyes to do us, do.”

⁶ tn Heb “And he did to them so and he rescued them from the hand of the sons of Israel and they did not kill them.”

⁷ tn Heb “and Joshua made them in that day woodcutters and water carriers for the community, and for the altar of the Lord to this day at the place which he chooses.”