Joshua 9:17-23

9:17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities – Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 9:18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. ¹  The whole community criticized ²  the leaders, 9:19 but all the leaders told the whole community, “We swore an oath to them in the name of ³  the Lord God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt ⁴  them! 9:20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” ⁵  9:21 The leaders then added, ⁶  “Let them live.” So they became ⁷  woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided. ⁸ 

9:22 ⁹ Joshua summoned the Gibeonites ¹⁰  and said to them, “Why did you trick ¹¹  us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby? ¹²  9:23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” ¹³ 

[9:18]  ¹ tn Heb “by the Lord God of Israel.”

[9:18]  ² tn Or “grumbled against.”

[9:19]  ¹ tn Heb “to them by….”

[9:19]  ² tn Or “touch.”

[9:20]  ¹ tn Heb “This is what we will do to them, keeping them alive so there will not be upon us anger concerning the oath which we swore to them.”

[9:21]  ¹ tc Heb “and the leaders said to them.” The LXX omits the words “and the leaders said to them.”

[9:21]  ² tn The vav (ו) consecutive construction in the Hebrew text suggests that the narrative resumes at this point. The LXX reads here, “and they will be,” understanding what follows to be a continuation of the leaders’ words rather than a comment by the narrator.

[9:21]  ³ tn Heb “as the leaders said to them.”

[9:22]  ¹ sn Verses 22-27 appear to elaborate on v. 21b.

[9:22]  ² tn Heb “them.”

[9:22]  ³ tn Or “deceive.”

[9:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “live in our midst?”

[9:23]  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.”