Joshua 9:21 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

And 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.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

The leaders said to them, 'Let them live, but they will cut wood and carry water for the whole community, just as the leaders had promised them.'

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

The leaders decided to spare the Gibeonites' lives but made them servants to the Israelite community, keeping the promise they had made.

📚 Historical Context

In the Book of Joshua, the Israelites were conquering the Promised Land when the Gibeonites, a group of Canaanites, deceived them into a peace treaty by pretending to be from a distant land. The Israelite leaders swore an oath to spare the Gibeonites, but upon realizing the trickery, they could not break their vow due to God's emphasis on keeping promises. As a result, the Gibeonites were allowed to live but were made servants to handle menial tasks like cutting wood and drawing water for the Israelite community.

Explore Similar Verses

Joshua 9:19

But all the leaders said to the entire community, 'We have made a promise to them in the name of the LORD God of Israel, so now we cannot harm them.'

Nehemiah 5:12

Then they said, 'We will give everything back, and we won't demand anything more from them. We'll do exactly what you've said.' So I called the priests over and made the leaders swear an oath that they would keep this promise.

Jeremiah 30:21

Their leaders will come from among their own people, and their ruler will rise up from within their community. I will bring him close to me, and he will come near to me. After all, who would dare to come close to me on their own? says the LORD.

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