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11 So be very careful and watchful of yourselves to [a]love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these that are left among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know and understand with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God has promised concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. 15 It shall come about that just as every good word which the Lord your God spoke and promised to you has [b]been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you every bad thing [about which He warned you], until He has destroyed and eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 When you transgress (violate) the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you [to follow], and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 23:11 The word love is sometimes used to express the covenant relationship between Israel and God. Everything depended on whether or not Israel would continue to be faithful to the covenant established by God. Joshua knew the trap the pagan nations would be to Israel, so he proposed three guidelines: first, there must be obedience to God’s word (23:6); second, there must be a diligent separation from the Canaanite nations (23:7); finally, there must be a dependence on the Lord with heartfelt love (23:8-11).
  2. Joshua 23:15 Lit come to.

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