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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Jos C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Jos 9 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V25 V26 V27
OET (OET-LV) And_they_answered DOM Yəhōshūˊa and_they_said if/because fully_(tell) it_was_told to_servants_of_your DOM how he_had_commanded YHWH god_of_your DOM Mosheh servant_of_his to_give to/for_you(pl) DOM all_of the_earth/land and_to_destroy DOM all_of the_inhabitants_of the_earth/land from_before_of_you(pl) and_we_were_afraid very for_lives_of_our because_of_you(pl) and_we_did DOM the_thing (the)_this.
OET (OET-RV) “Because it was made very clear to your servants,” they answered, “that your god Yahweh had commanded his servant Mosheh to give to you all the land and to destroy everyone who lives in the region. We feared for our lives when you came closer, so that’s what we did.
The Gibeonite people lived near Ai. When they heard that Joshua had defeated Ai, they were afraid that he would conquer and kill them too. So, they sent messengers who pretended they had come from a long distance away. They deceived the Israelites and made a treaty of friendship with them.
Later, the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites lied to them, and that they lived quite close to them. They could not kill them because of the treaty, so they made them be water carriers and woodcutters for the Israelites.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The people of Gibeon
The Gibeon people tricked the Israelites and made a treaty with them
The Gibeonites answered,
¶ The Gibeonites answered Joshua:
¶ The Gibeonites leaders replied to Joshua:
The Gibeonites answered: The phrase The Gibeonites refers to the Gibeonite leaders who met with Joshua. It may be necessary to make this clear in your translation.
“Your servants were told clearly
“We did it because people told us for sure
“We lied to you because they told us how certain is it
Your servants were told clearly: The phrase were told is passive. In some languages it may be clearer to make this an active phrase.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
we learned (GNT)
We heard (NCV)
people told us
Your servants: The Gibeonites called themselves Your servants to show respect to Joshua. Many languages have pronouns or other vocabulary for showing respect. Use whatever means is natural to indicate this.
were told clearly: The phrase told clearly translates an emphatic form of the Hebrew verb “told.” The Gibeonites emphasized that they heard a sure and certain report that the God of the Israelites was powerful. Use whatever means is natural to show that there is no doubt that the Gibeonites heard these things.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
your servants were clearly told (NIV)
we learned that it was really true (GNT)
that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land
that Yahweh your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land.
that Yahweh your God told his servant Moses to help you conquer this land.
that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land: It may be more natural to divided this long clause into two or more clauses. For example:
we heard that Yahweh your God had made a promise to his servant Moses. Yahweh promised Moses that he would help the Israelites conquer this land
we heard about the promise that Yahweh your God gave to Moses, who served him. Yahweh told Moses that the Israelites would take this land
and wipe out all its inhabitants before you.
Yahweh promised Moses that he will help the Israelites kill all the people as you move into the land.
We heard that you will kill all the people in the land.
and wipe out all its inhabitants: It may be more natural in some languages to begin a new sentence. For example:
We heard that they will kill all the people who live in the land
before you: The phrase before you indicates that the Israelites will advance into the land, and kill the people living there wherever they find them.
So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.
We were afraid that you will kill us, and so we lied to you.
This is why we tricked you into making a peace treaty. We were afraid you will kill us.
So we greatly feared for our lives because of you: The clause we greatly feared for our lives indicates that the Gibeonites were afraid the Israelites would kill them.
and that is why we have done this: The word this refers to the lie that the Gibeonites told the Israelites.
It may be more natural in some languages to rearrange the parts of this verse of the Gibeonites’ answer to Joshua.9:24 Bratcher and Newman, p. 134. For example:
24aThey answered, 24e“We did it, sir, 24bbecause we learned that it was really true 24cthat the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land 24dand to kill the people living in it as you advanced. 24eWe did it because we were terrified of you; we were in fear of our lives. (GNT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / reduplication
הֻגֵּ֨ד הֻגַּ֤ד לַעֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙
to_be_told he_was_told to,servants_of,your
The Gibeonites are repeating forms of the verb declared in order to intensify the idea that it expresses. If your language can repeat words for intensification, it would be appropriate to do that here in your translation. If not, your language may have another way of expressing the emphasis. Alternate translation: [it was clearly declared to your servants]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
כִּי֩ הֻגֵּ֨ד הֻגַּ֤ד לַעֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙
that/for/because/then/when to_be_told he_was_told to,servants_of,your
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [Because people clearly declared to your servants]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
לַעֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙
to,servants_of,your
To show respect to Joshua, the Gibeonites are speaking humbly about themselves in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the first person. Alternate translation: [to us, your servants]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
לָכֶם֙ & מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם & מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם
to/for=you(pl) & from,before_of,you(pl) & because,of,you(pl)
The first two instances of your are singular because the Gibeonites are addressing Joshua. The other two instances of your and the word you are plural because the Gibeonites are referring to the Israelites as a group. Use the corresponding forms in your translation if your language marks this distinction.
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
מִפְּנֵיכֶ֔ם
because,of,you(pl)
The Gibeonites are using one part of the Israelite people, their faces, to represent all of them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [because of you]
9:1-27 Joshua once again failed to consult God (9:14; cp. 7:2-4), this time over an unexpected request. Other ancient Near Eastern accounts tell only of a leader’s triumphs; this author also recorded the shortcomings of Joshua and Israel’s elders. The real hero of the story is God, whose accomplishments the author wished to tell.
OET (OET-LV) And_they_answered DOM Yəhōshūˊa and_they_said if/because fully_(tell) it_was_told to_servants_of_your DOM how he_had_commanded YHWH god_of_your DOM Mosheh servant_of_his to_give to/for_you(pl) DOM all_of the_earth/land and_to_destroy DOM all_of the_inhabitants_of the_earth/land from_before_of_you(pl) and_we_were_afraid very for_lives_of_our because_of_you(pl) and_we_did DOM the_thing (the)_this.
OET (OET-RV) “Because it was made very clear to your servants,” they answered, “that your god Yahweh had commanded his servant Mosheh to give to you all the land and to destroy everyone who lives in the region. We feared for our lives when you came closer, so that’s what we did.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.