Joshua 9:8
New International Version
“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

New Living Translation
They replied, “We are your servants.” “But who are you?” Joshua demanded. “Where do you come from?”

English Standard Version
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”

Berean Standard Bible
“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”

King James Bible
And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?

New King James Version
But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

New American Standard Bible
So they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

NASB 1995
But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

NASB 1977
But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

Legacy Standard Bible
But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

Amplified Bible
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

Christian Standard Bible
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

American Standard Version
And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they said to Yeshua: “We are your Servants.” Yeshua said to them, “From where are you and from where have you come?”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they said to Joshua, We are thy servants: and Joshua said to them, Whence are ye, and whence have ye come?

Douay-Rheims Bible
But they said to Josue: We are thy servants. Josue said to them: Who are you? and whence came you?

English Revised Version
And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They responded to Joshua, "We're at your mercy." Joshua asked them, "Who are you, and where did you come from?"

Good News Translation
They said to Joshua, "We are at your service." Joshua asked them, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

International Standard Version
So they responded to Joshua, "We are your servants." Joshua asked them, "Who are you? And where did you come from?"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And they said unto Joshua: 'We are thy servants.' And Joshua said unto them: 'Who are ye? and from whence come ye?'

Literal Standard Version
And they say to Joshua, “We [are] your servants.” And Joshua says to them, “Who [are] you? And where do you come from?”

Majority Standard Bible
“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”

New American Bible
But they answered Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

NET Bible
But they said to Joshua, "We are willing to be your subjects." So Joshua said to them, "Who are you and where do you come from?"

New Revised Standard Version
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?”

New Heart English Bible
They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." Joshua said to them, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And they said to Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are ye? and whence come ye?

World English Bible
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Joshua said to them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

Young's Literal Translation
and they say unto Joshua, 'Thy servants we are.' And Joshua saith unto them, 'Who are ye? and whence come ye?'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Deceit of the Gibeonites
7But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?” 8“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?” 9“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt,…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 20:11
If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

Joshua 9:11
So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go to meet them and say to them: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.'

2 Kings 10:5
So the palace administrator, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: "We are your servants, and we will do whatever you say. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your sight."


Treasury of Scripture

And they said to Joshua, We are your servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are you? and from from where come you?

Joshua 8:11,23,25,27
And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai…

Genesis 9:25,26
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren…

Deuteronomy 20:11
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

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Joshua Servants Whence
Joshua 9
1. The kings combine against Israel
3. The Gibeonites by craft obtain a league
22. They are condemned to perpetual bondage














Verse 8. - We are thy servants. This does not mean altogether, as ver. 9 shows, that the Gibeonites intended by this embassy to reduce themselves to servitude. Their object, as Grotius remarks, was rather to form an alliance on terms of something like equality. The phrase was one common in the East as a token of respect (e.g., Genesis 32:4, 18; Genesis 50:18; 2 Kings 10:5; 2 Kings 16:7). But no doubt the Gibeonites (see ver. 11) expected to have a tribute laid on them. And they would willingly accept such an impost, for, as Ewald remarks ( 'History of Israel,' 4:3), their object was "to secure the peace which a mercantile inland city especially requires" (see also note on Joshua 3:10). From whence come ye? Joshua uses the imperfect, not the perfect, tense here. Commentators are divided about its meaning. Some suppose that the perfect, "from whence have ye come?" is mere direct and abrupt than "from whence may you have come?" or, "from whence were you coming?" and certainly an indirect question is in most languages considered more respectful than a direct one (see Genesis 42:7). But perhaps with Ewald we may regard it simply as implying that their mission was still in progress.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“We
אֲנָ֑חְנוּ (’ă·nā·ḥə·nū)
Pronoun - first person common plural
Strong's 587: We

are your servants,”
עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ (‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

they said
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Joshua.
יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ (yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3091: Joshua -- 'the LORD is salvation', Moses' successor, also the name of a number of Israelites

Then Joshua
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ (yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3091: Joshua -- 'the LORD is salvation', Moses' successor, also the name of a number of Israelites

asked them,
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Who
מִ֥י (mî)
Interrogative
Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix

are you
אַתֶּ֖ם (’at·tem)
Pronoun - second person masculine plural
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

and from where
וּמֵאַ֥יִן (ū·mê·’a·yin)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 370: Whence?

have you come?”
תָּבֹֽאוּ׃ (tā·ḇō·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go


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OT History: Joshua 9:8 They said to Joshua We are your (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 9:7
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