Joshua 23:1-13

New International Version

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest^(A) from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,^(B) ²summoned all Israel—their elders,^(C) leaders, judges and officials^(D)—and said to them: “I am very old.^(E) ³You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.^(F) ⁴Remember how I have allotted^(G) as an inheritance^(H) for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea^(I) in the west. ⁵The Lord your God himself will push them out^(J) for your sake. He will drive them out^(K) before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.^(L)

⁶“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law^(M) of Moses, without turning aside^(N) to the right or to the left.^(O) ⁷Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear^(P) by them. You must not serve them or bow down^(Q) to them. ⁸But you are to hold fast to the Lord^(R) your God, as you have until now.

⁹“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations;^(S) to this day no one has been able to withstand you.^(T) ¹⁰One of you routs a thousand,^(U) because the Lord your God fights for you,^(V) just as he promised. ¹¹So be very careful^(W) to love the Lord^(X) your God.

¹²“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them^(Y) and associate with them,^(Z) ¹³then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out^(AA) these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares^(AB) and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes,^(AC) until you perish from this good land,^(AD) which the Lord your God has given you.