We will do this to them, and let them live; lest wrath be on us, because of the oath which we swore to them.”
Parallel translations
- KJV This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
- BSB This is how we will treat them: We will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.”
- NKJV This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.”
- NASB This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them.”
- NLT This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our 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
They resolve to let the Gibeonites live, fearing God's wrath if they break their oath. Honoring the vow takes precedence to avoid divine judgment.
Overview
The leaders recognize that violating an oath sworn by Yahweh would bring his wrath upon the nation. Their decision shows reverence for God's name above their resentment at being deceived. The fear of breaking faith with God shapes their conduct, illustrating that keeping covenant is itself an act of honoring the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ezek 17:12–21“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.
- Mal 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Prov 20:25It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication, then later to consider his vows.
- Zech 5:3–4Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side.
- 1 Tim 1:10for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave-traders, for liars, for perjurers, and for any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;
- Rom 1:31without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
- 2 Sam 21:1–6There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of Yahweh. Yahweh said, “It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
- 2 Chr 36:13He also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God; but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel.
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 9:20 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.