9:11a

So the elders: The term elders refers to the leaders of the Gibeonites. Unlike the other towns in the region of Canaan, the Gibeonites were ruled by leaders but had no king.

and inhabitants of our land told us: The phrase inhabitants of our land refers to the people who lived in the region of the Gibeonites. Gibeon was actually a town, but it had power over the other nearby towns.

Here are some other ways to translate the term land :

area
-or-
region

9:11b

Take provisions for your journey: The clause Take provisions for your journey indicates that the people took food to eat. They put the food in sacks which their donkeys carried. They did not carry the food in their hands.

for your journey: The phrase for your journey refers to the trip that the Gibeonites took from their own town to the Israelite camp.

9:11c

go to meet them and say to them: The clause go to meet them indicates that the Gibeonites should travel to the Israelite camp and introduce themselves to Joshua and the Israelites leaders.

General Comment on 9:11a-c

The Gibeonites report this as a direct quote of what the elders told them to do. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this as an indirect quote. For example:

Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a trip and to go and meet you. (Good News Translation)

9:11d

We are your servants: The clause We are your servants indicates that the Gibeonites were willing to become subject to the Israelites and submit to them. You should translate the phrase your servants in the same way as in 9:8a.

Please: The word Please is a way to make a polite request. You should use whatever word or grammatical means is appropriate to make a polite request in your language.

make a treaty with us: The clause make a treaty with us indicates that the Gibeonites wanted the Israelites to make a peace treaty with them.

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