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

2These kings combined their armies to fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites. 3But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. 5They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy. 6When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• They did workעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• wililyעׇרְמָה‛ormâh · craftinessH6195
• and wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• and made as if they had been ambassadorsצָיַרtsâyar · to take provisionH6737
• and tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• oldבָּלֶהbâleh · oldH1087
• sacksשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• upon their assesחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
• and wineיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
• bottlesנֹאדnô'd nô'd nô'dâh · wineskinH4997
• and rentבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
• and bound upצָרַרtsârar · to constrainH6887

Cross-references for Joshua 9:4

• Genesis 34:13But since Shechem had defiled their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to Shechem and his father, Hamor.
• 1 Kings 20:31Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. So let’s humble ourselves by wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our heads, and surrender to the king of Israel. Then perhaps he will let you live.”
• Matthew 10:16“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.
• Luke 16:8“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.
• Psalms 119:83I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, but I have not forgotten to obey your decrees.
• Matthew 9:17“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
• Mark 2:22“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”
• Luke 5:37“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.

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