And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live. The princes of the congregation swore to them.
- BSB And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
- NKJV So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.
- NASB And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
- NLT Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua makes peace and a covenant to let the Gibeonites live, sworn by the leaders of the congregation. A binding oath is made on false pretenses.
Overview
The treaty is ratified with a solemn oath in Yahweh's name, making it irrevocable despite the deception behind it. Israel is now bound by its word even though it was secured by a lie. The episode sets up the tension between honoring a sacred oath and the prohibition on covenants with Canaanites, which the chapter resolves in favor of keeping the oath.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Sam 21:2And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
- Josh 11:19There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.
- Deut 20:10–11When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
- Josh 6:22–25But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.
- Jer 18:7–8At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
- Exod 23:32Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
- Josh 2:12–19Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 9:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.