Now 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.
Now therefore you are cursed, and none of you will ever be freed from being servants—you will cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.
Joshua is telling the Gibeonites that because of their deception, they will serve as permanent workers at God's house as their punishment.
📚 Historical Context
The Gibeonites had tricked Joshua and the Israelites into making a peace treaty by pretending to be from a distant land, when they actually lived nearby in the Promised Land. According to God's commands, the Israelites were supposed to completely destroy the local Canaanite peoples, but the treaty prevented this. Joshua's pronouncement made the Gibeonites temple servants, which actually preserved their lives while fulfilling a form of judgment.
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