Joshua Installed as Leader

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,^(A) the Lord said to Joshua^(B) son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River^(C) into the land^(D) I am about to give to them^(E)—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot,^(F) as I promised Moses.^{(G) 4} Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon,^(H) and from the great river, the Euphrates^(I)—all the Hittite^(J) country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.^{(K) 5} No one will be able to stand against you^(L) all the days of your life. As I was with^(M) Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake^(N) you. ⁶ Be strong^(O) and courageous,^(P) because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors^(Q) to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey^(R) all the law^(S) my servant Moses^(T) gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,^(U) that you may be successful wherever you go.^{(V) 8} Keep this Book of the Law^(W) always on your lips;^(X) meditate^(Y) on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.^{(Z) 9} Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;^(AA) do not be discouraged,^(AB) for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”^(AC)

⁶ The Lord our God said to us^(A) at Horeb,^(B) “You have stayed long enough^(C) at this mountain. ⁷ Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites;^(D) go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah,^(E) in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev^(F) and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites^(G) and to Lebanon,^(H) as far as the great river, the Euphrates.^{(I) 8} See, I have given you this land^(J).^(K) Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore^(L) he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

Spies Sent Out

¹⁹ Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites^(A) through all that vast and dreadful wilderness^(B) that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.^{(C) 20} Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. ²¹ See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession^(D) of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;^(E) do not be discouraged.”^(F)

²² Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy^(G) out the land^(H) for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

²³ The idea seemed good to me; so I selected^(I) twelve of you, one man from each tribe. ²⁴ They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol^(J) and explored it. ²⁵ Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,^(K) “It is a good land^(L) that the Lord our God is giving us.”^(M)

Rebellion Against the Lord

²⁶ But you were unwilling to go up;^(N) you rebelled^(O) against the command of the Lord your God. ²⁷ You grumbled^(P) in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. ²⁸ Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller^(Q) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites^(R) there.’”

²⁹ Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid^(S) of them.^{(T) 30} The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight^(U) for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, ³¹ and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried^(V) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”^(W)

³² In spite of this,^(X) you did not trust^(Y) in the Lord your God, ³³ who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day,^(Z) to search^(AA) out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

³⁴ When the Lord heard^(AB) what you said, he was angry^(AC) and solemnly swore:^{(AD) 35} “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land^(AE) I swore to give your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb^(AF) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.^(AG)”

³⁷ Because of you the Lord became angry^(AH) with me also and said, “You shall not enter^(AI) it, either. ³⁸ But your assistant, Joshua^(AJ) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage^(AK) him, because he will lead^(AL) Israel to inherit^(AM) it. ³⁹ And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,^(AN) your children who do not yet know^(AO) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.^[a](AP)”

⁴¹ Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

⁴² But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”^(AQ)

⁴³ So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees^(AR) and beat you down from Seir^(AS) all the way to Hormah.^{(AT) 45} You came back and wept before the Lord,^(AU) but he paid no attention^(AV) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear^(AW) to you. ⁴⁶ And so you stayed in Kadesh^(AX) many days—all the time you spent there.