Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you will never fail to be slaves, both wood cutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.”
- KJV Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
- NKJV Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
- NASB Now therefore, you are cursed, and you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and labor to draw water for the house of my God.”
- NLT May you be cursed! From now on you will always be servants who cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”
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 pronounces that the Gibeonites are cursed to perpetual service as woodcutters and water carriers for God's house. Their deception brings lasting, lowly servitude.
Overview
The 'curse' assigns the Gibeonites enduring menial labor in connection with the sanctuary, the consequence of their deceit. Yet this service places them near the worship of Yahweh and within the covenant community's life. What begins as a curse becomes a kind of mercy, a foreshadowing of how God can draw former outsiders into the service and blessing of his house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Josh 9:21They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.
- Josh 9:27On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.
- Lev 27:28–29Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
- Gen 9:25–26he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
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 9:23 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
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