Joshua 9:23

Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Joshua pronounces a permanent curse on the Gibeonites immediately after confronting them about their deception and before hearing their explanation. He declares they will serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of God.

The words — The verse hinges on אֲרוּרִ֣ים ('a.ru.Rim), meaning "cursed," and עֵצִ֛ים ('e.Tzim), meaning "wood," which together establish a fixed status of labor and exclusion. These terms function as legal markers that transform the Gibeonites' survival into a permanent class of temple servants.

The thread — The decree parallels the irrevocable dedication of devoted things in Leviticus 27:28, where set-apart persons or property cannot be sold or redeemed. It also reflects the generational servitude pattern established in Genesis 9:25.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to accept that covenant deception triggers binding, non-negotiable consequences rather than reversible warnings. It demands a clear-eyed recognition that divine justice operates through permanent institutional accountability, not temporary discipline.

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

וְעַתָּ֖הve./'a.Tahand/ therefore אֲרוּרִ֣ים'a.ru.Rim[are] cursed אַתֶּ֑ם'a.Temyou וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not יִכָּרֵ֨תyi.ka.Rethe will be cut offמִכֶּ֜םmi./Kemfrom <the>/ youעֶ֗בֶד'E.veda slave וְחֹטְבֵ֥יve./cho.te.Veiand/ cutters of עֵצִ֛ים'e.Tzimwood<s>וְשֹֽׁאֲבֵי־ve./sho.'a.vei-and/ drawers of מַ֖יִםMa.yimwater לְבֵ֥יתle./Veitfor/ [the] house of אֱלֹהָֽי׃'e.lo.Ha/iGod/ my

King James Version

Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

Cross-references

Joshua 9:21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.
Genesis 9:25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
Leviticus 27:28 Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
Joshua 9:27 On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.