Joshua 9:4
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;
Joshua 9:4 in other translations
| BSB | acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. |
|---|---|
| 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 wineskins, |
| ASV | they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-skins, old and rent and bound up, |
| YLT | and they work, even they, with subtilty, and go, and feign to be ambassadors, and take old sacks for their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up, |
| DARBY | then they also acted with craft, and they went prepared as on a journey, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-flasks, old and rent and tied up; |
| BBE | Acting with deceit, got food together as if for a long journey; and took old food-bags for their asses, and old and cracked wine-skins kept together with cord; |
| Webster | They did work craftily, and went and made as if they had been embassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; |
What does Joshua 9:4 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 9:3-15
Jos 9:3-15. The Gibeonites Obtain a League by Craft. 3-15. when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard--This town, as its name imports, was situated on a rocky eminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modern village of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, and a large important city (Jos 10:2). It seems to have formed, in union with a few other towns in the neighborhood, a free…
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 9:3-13
Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and the grace of God in the gospel, is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death, 2Co 2:16. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evil that…
Joshua 9:4 in the original Hebrew
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Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Joshua 9:4
- Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
- Luke 5:37-38
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
- Luke 16:8
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
- Mark 2:22
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
- 1 Kings 20:31-33
And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben–hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben–hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben–hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
- Matthew 9:17
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
- Psalms 119:83
For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.
- Genesis 34:13
And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ge 34:13; 1Ki 20:31-33; Mt 10:16; Lu 16:8
ambassadors.The word {tzir,} an ambassador, properly denotes a hinge; because an ambassador is a person upon whom the business turns as upon a hinge. So the Latin {Cardinalis,} from {cardo,} a hinge, was the title of the prime minister of the emperor Theodosius, though now applied only to the Pope's electors and counsellors.
wine bottles.These bottles being made of skin, were consequently liable to be rent, and capable of being mended; which is done, according to Chardin, by putting in a piece, or by gathering up the wounded piece in the manner of a purse; and sometimes by inserting a flat piece of wood.
Ps 119:83; Mt 9:17; Mr 2:22; Lu 5:37,38
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Joshua 9:3
And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
- Joshua 9:4
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;
- Joshua 9:5
And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
Joshua 9:4 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Ellos usaron también de astucia; pues fueron y fingiéronse embajadores, y tomaron sacos viejos sobre sus asnos, y cueros viejos de vino, rotos y remendados, |
|---|---|
| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | et ils usèrent de ruse, eux aussi; et ils se mirent en route, préparés comme pour un voyage, et prirent de vieux sacs sur leurs ânes, et de vieilles outres à vin crevassées et recousues, |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | handelten auch ihrerseits mit List und gingen und stellten sich als Boten: sie nahmen abgenutzte Säcke für ihre Esel, und abgenutzte und geborstene und zusammengebundene Weinschläuche, |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | et callide cogitantes, tulerunt sibi cibaria, saccos veteres asinis imponentes, et utres vinarios scissos atque consutos, |