acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
Parallel translations
- WEB they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and old, torn-up and bound up wine skins,
- KJV They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
- NKJV they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended,
- NASB but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched,
- NLT they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins.
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
The Gibeonites resort to a ruse, disguising themselves as travelers from a distant land with worn-out supplies. They use deception to secure a treaty.
Overview
Knowing Israel was forbidden to make peace with the local Canaanites, the Gibeonites stage an elaborate pretense of having come from far away. Their cunning shows both their fear of Israel's God and a worldly reliance on trickery. The episode warns of the danger of judging by appearances rather than seeking the Lord's guidance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 5:37–38And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
- Matt 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
- Mark 2:22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
- Ps 119:83Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
- Matt 9:17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
- 1 Kgs 20:31–33Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
- Gen 34:13But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
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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 9:4 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.