Joshua 9:4

Joshua 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They 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;
• New International Version (NIV)they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
• English Standard Version (ESV)they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended,
• New King James Version (NKJV)they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended,

Context of Joshua 9:4

2they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. 3But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5They put worn, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies, and their whole supply of bread was dry and moldy. 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.”

Joshua 9:4 word by word

וַיַּעֲשׂ֤וּ גַם־הֵ֙מָּה֙ בְּעָרְמָ֔ה וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ וַיִּצְטַיָּ֑רוּ וַיִּקְח֞וּ שַׂקִּ֤ים בָּלִים֙ לַחֲמ֣וֹרֵיהֶ֔ם וְנֹאד֥וֹת יַ֙יִן֙ בָּלִ֔ים וּמְבֻקָּעִ֖ים וּמְצֹרָרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

• acted deceptivelyעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• acted deceptivelyגַּםgam · alsoH1571
• acted deceptivelyהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992
• acted deceptivelyעׇרְמָה‛ormâh · craftinessH6195
• and set outהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• as envoysצָיַרtsâyar · to take provisionH6737
• carryingלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• on their donkeysחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
• worn-outבָּלֶהbâleh · oldH1087
• sacksשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• wineskinsנֹאדnô'd nô'd nô'dâh · wineskinH4997
• wineskinsיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
• crackedבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
• and mendedצָרַרtsârar · to constrainH6887

Cross-references for Joshua 9:4

• Genesis 34:13But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
• 1 Kings 20:31Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
• Matthew 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
• Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
• Psalms 119:83Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
• Matthew 9:17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
• Mark 2:22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
• Luke 5:37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.

Commentaries on Joshua 9:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They did work wilily - Finesse of this kind is allowed by the conduct of all nations; and stratagems in war are all considered as legal. Nine tenths of the victories gained are attributable to stratagem; all sides practice them, and therefore none can condemn them. Much time and labor have been lost in the inquiry, "Did not the Gibeonites tell lies?" Certainly they did, and what is that to us? Does the word of God commend them for it? It does not. Are…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4They did work wilily - literally, “they also,” or “they too, did work, etc.” The “also” serves, apparently, to connect the stratagem of the Gibeonites with that employed by the Israelites before Ai. It hints that the Gibeonites resolved to meet craft with craft. Rent and bound up - i. e. the wine skins were torn and roughly repaired by tying up the edges of the tear. The more thorough and careful way, hardly feasible in a hasty journey, would have been to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-13Verses 3-13 Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and the grace of God in the gospel, is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death, 2Co 2:16. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evil that good may themselves to the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-6At that time, traveling long distances was difficult, dirty, and dangerous. To succeed in their trick, the Gibeonites needed their supplies, clothes, and food to appear convincing.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-153-15. when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard--This town, as its name imports, was situated on a rocky eminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modern village of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, and a large important city (Jos 10:2). It seems to have formed, in union with a few other towns in the neighborhood, a free independent state (Jos 9:17) and to have enjoyed a republican government (Jos 9:11).Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 9:4

• Ambassadors
• Bottle
• Confidence
• Contracts
• Craftiness
• Deception
• Diplomacy
• Joshua
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Magnanimity
• Oath
• Treaty
• Wine

In the dictionaries

• Alliance
• Ambassador
• Bottle
• Gibeon
• Wilily
• Chephirah
• Exodus, the Book of
• Joshua, Book of
• Make, Maker
• Palestine

Commentaries on Joshua 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings