Joshua 9:21
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And the princes said unto them, Let them live: so they became hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation, as the princes had spoken unto them.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Keep them living, and let them be servants, cutting wood and getting water for all the people. And all the people did as the chiefs had said to them.
Webster's Revision
And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood, and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
World English Bible
The princes said to them, "Let them live, so they became wood cutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the princes had spoken to them."
English Revised Version (ERV)
And the princes said unto them, Let them live: so they became hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had spoken unto them.
Definitions for Joshua 9:21
Clarke's Joshua 9:21 Bible Commentary
Hewers of wood and drawers of water - Perhaps this is a sort of proverbial expression, signifying the lowest state of servitude, though it may also be understood literally. See below.
Barnes's Joshua 9:21 Bible Commentary
Render "they shall be hewers of wood and drawers of water:" menial duties belonging to the lowest classes only (compare the marginal reference). The curse of Noah Genesis 9:25 on the children of Ham was thus fulfilled to the letter in the case of these Hivites.
Wesley's Joshua 9:21 Bible Commentary
9:21 Unto all the congregation - That is, Let them be public servants, and employed in the meanest offices, (one kind being put for all the rest) for the use of the congregation; to do this partly for the sacrifices and services of the house of God, which otherwise the Israelites themselves must have done; partly for the service of the camp or body of the people; and sometimes, even to particular Israelites.
