God’s Word Translation
Joshua 9:8
8They responded to Joshua, “We’re at your mercy.” Joshua asked them, “Who are you, and where did you come from?”
Joshua 9:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
- New International Version (NIV)“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you? And where do you come from?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”
Context of Joshua 9:8
6They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. They told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country. Make a treaty with us right now.” 7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you’re living in this area? We wouldn’t be able to make a treaty with you.” They responded to Joshua, “We’re at your mercy.” Joshua asked them, “Who are you, and where did you come from?” 9They answered him, “We came from a country very far away because the Lord your God has become famous. We heard stories about him and everything he did in Egypt. 10We also heard everything he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth.
Read all of Joshua 9Joshua 9:8 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ אֲנָ֑חְנוּ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֧ם יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ מִ֥י אַתֶּ֖ם וּמֵאַ֥יִן תָּבֹֽאוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joshua 9:8
- Joshua 8:11All the troops with him marched until they were near the city. They camped north of Ai with the ravine between them and Ai.
- Genesis 9:25So he said, “Canaan is cursed! He will be the lowest slave to his brothers.
- Deuteronomy 20:11If they accept it and open ⌞their gates⌟ to you, then all the people there will be made to do forced labor and serve you.
- 1 Kings 9:20The Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had been left ⌞in the land⌟ because the Israelites had not been able to claim them for God by destroying them. They were not Israelites,
- 2 Kings 10:5So the official in charge of the palace, the mayor of the city, the respected leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants. We’ll do everything you tell us. We won’t make anyone king. Do what you think is best.”
Commentaries on Joshua 9:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8We are thy servants - This appears to have been the only answer they gave to the question of the Israelitish elders, and this they gave to Joshua, not to them, as they saw that Joshua was commander-in-chief of the host. Who are ye? and from whence come ye? - To these questions, from such an authority, they felt themselves obliged to give an explicit answer; and they do it very artfully by a mixture of truth, falsehood, and hypocrisy.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. 7-8The name Hivites is known only from the Bible and refers to a non-Semitic ethnic group that lived in various parts of Canaan (see Genesis 34:2; 36:2; Exodus 23:23, 28). Semitic people were ancient groups from the Middle East and North Africa, known for their shared languages (such as Hebrew, Aramaic, or Arabic) and cultural traditions. Perhaps you dwell near us: Israel’s leaders worried that the visitors were lying. They asked how they could know the…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 9:8
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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