And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
Parallel translations
- WEB He did so to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they didn’t kill them.
- BSB So Joshua did this and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill the Gibeonites.
- NKJV So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them.
- NASB This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.
- NLT So Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.
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 honors the oath and spares the Gibeonites from being killed by Israel. The covenant, though obtained by deceit, is kept.
Overview
Israel's leaders had sworn by Yahweh, and so the lives of the Gibeonites are protected even though the treaty was made under false pretenses. This upholds the seriousness of an oath taken in God's name, a principle later vindicated when God judges Saul's house for breaking it (2 Samuel 21). God's faithfulness to His own name overshadows human error, sparing those who sought refuge among His people.
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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 9:26 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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