Joshua 9:18

But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the Israelite camp's reaction after reaching the Gibeonite cities, noting that the leaders' prior oath prevents military action. The congregation's grumbling occurs immediately as they confront the consequences of that binding promise.

The words — נִשְׁבְּע֤וּ (nish.be.'U) records the leaders' completed oath-taking, while הָֽ/עֵדָ֔ה (ha./'e.Dah) identifies the assembled community whose collective complaint reveals the fracture between vow and circumstance.

The thread — The unrevoked nature of this promise aligns with Psalms 15:4 and 2 Samuel 21:7, where sworn commitments before God remain legally and morally binding. Ecclesiastes 5:2 provides the cautionary principle against the hasty speech that generates such inescapable vows.

Why it lands — The text states that a public oath legally restrains communal action even when regret follows. It requires readers to evaluate the long-term cost of solemn declarations before making them.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְלֹ֤אve./Lo'and/ not הִכּוּם֙hi.Ku/mthey attacked/ them בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people of יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsrael כִּֽי־ki-for נִשְׁבְּע֤וּnish.be.'Uthey had sworn an oathלָהֶם֙la./Hemto <the>/ themנְשִׂיאֵ֣יne.si.'Ei[the] leaders of הָֽעֵדָ֔הha./'e.Dahthe/ congregation בַּֽיהוָ֖הba./Yah.wehby/ Yahweh אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei[the] God of יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'ElIsrael וַיִּלֹּ֥נוּva/i.yi.Lo.nuand/ they grumbled כָל־khol-all הָעֵדָ֖הha./'e.Dahthe/ congregation עַל־'al-on הַנְּשִׂיאִֽים׃ha./ne.si.'Imthe/ leaders

King James Version

And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.

Cross-references

Psalms 15:4 who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
2 Samuel 21:7 Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?
Ecclesiastes 9:2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.