Joshua 23
New American Standard Bible
Joshua’s Farewell Address
23 Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given (A)rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that (B)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, their judges, and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for (C)the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 See, (D)I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have eliminated, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the [a]west. 5 And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and [b](E)drive them from you; and (F)you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God [c]promised you. 6 (G)Be very determined, then, to keep and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, 7 so that you will not [d]associate with these nations, these which remain with you, or (H)mention the name of their gods, or (I)make anyone swear by them, or (J)serve them, or bow down to them. 8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 (K)For the Lord has [e]driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, (L)no one has stood against you to this day. 10 (M)One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is (N)He who fights for you, just as He [f]promised you. 11 So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and (O)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and (P)intermarry with them, so that you [g]associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to [h]drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a (Q)snare and a 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 (R)I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that (S)not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have [i]been fulfilled for you, not [j]one of them has failed. 15 But it will come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so (T)the Lord will bring upon you [k]all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 (U)When you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 23:4 Lit sunset
- Joshua 23:5 Or dispossess
- Joshua 23:5 Lit spoke to
- Joshua 23:7 Lit come among
- Joshua 23:9 Or dispossessed
- Joshua 23:10 Lit spoke to
- Joshua 23:12 Lit come among
- Joshua 23:13 Or dispossess
- Joshua 23:14 Lit come
- Joshua 23:14 Lit one word
- Joshua 23:15 Lit every bad word
Joshua 23
Modern English Version
Joshua’s Charge to the Leaders
23 A long time later, after the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua was old and advanced in years. 2 Joshua called for all Israel, their elders, clan heads, judges, and officials, and said to them, “I am old and advanced in years. 3 You have seen all that the Lord your God did to all these peoples before you, for it is the Lord your God who has waged war for you. 4 See, I have allotted to you as an inheritance the land of these peoples who remain, along with the land of the peoples whom I defeated, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will drive them out and dispossess them from before you, and you will inherit their land, as the Lord your God told you.
6 “Now be very strong to observe and enact all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not deviate from it to the right or the left. 7 Do not assimilate with these peoples remaining among you. Do not invoke the names of their gods, nor swear by, serve, or worship them. 8 Instead, cling to the Lord your God, as you have done until today.
9 “For the Lord has dispossessed before you great and mighty peoples, and as for you, not a single man has been able to stand against you until today. 10 One man from among you can make a thousand flee, for it is the Lord your God who wages war for you, as He told you. 11 Now be careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God!
12 “For if you should turn and cling to the remainder of these peoples who are left with you, and you intermarry and assimilate with them, and they with you, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now, I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and souls that not a single word has failed out of all the good things that the Lord your God has said concerning you. All came true for you. Not a single word among them failed. 15 So just as every good thing that the Lord your God said to you came to be, even so the Lord can bring every bad thing upon you until He has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God gave you. 16 If you break the covenant of the Lord your God that He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land that He gave you.”
Joshua 23
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) 2 summoned all Israel—their elders,(C) leaders, judges and officials(D)—and said to them: “I am very old.(E) 3 You 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) 4 Remember 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. 5 The 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) 7 Do 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. 8 But 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) 10 One of you routs a thousand,(U) because the Lord your God fights for you,(V) just as he promised. 11 So 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) 13 then 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.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.(AE) You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise(AF) has been fulfilled; not one has failed.(AG) 15 But just as all the good things(AH) the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things(AI) he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you(AJ) from this good land he has given you.(AK) 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.(AL)”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

