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Joshua 23
New English Translation

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

23 A long time[a] passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies,[b] and Joshua was very old.[c] 2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. 3 You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you.[d] 4 See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations,[e] from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea[f] in the west, including all the nations I defeated.[g] 5 The Lord your God will drive them out from before you and remove them,[h] so you can occupy[i] their land as the Lord your God promised[j] you. 6 Be very strong! Carefully obey[k] all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, 7 or associate with these nations that remain near[l] you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods![m] You must not worship[n] or bow down to them! 8 But you must be loyal to[o] the Lord your God, as you have been[p] to this very day.

9 “The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you[q] to this very day. 10 One of you makes a thousand run away,[r] for the Lord your God fights for you,[s] as he promised you he would.[t] 11 Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God![u] 12 But if you ever turn away and make alliances with[v] these nations that remain near you,[w] and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them,[x] 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you;[y] they will be a whip that tears[z] your sides and thorns that blind[aa] your eyes until you disappear[ab] from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

14 “Look, today I am about to die.[ac] You know with all your heart and being[ad] that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized—not one promise is unfulfilled![ae] 15 But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized,[af] it is just as certain that if you disobey, then the Lord will bring on you every judgment[ag] until he destroys you from this good land that the Lord your God gave you. 16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep,[ah] and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods,[ai] then the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear[aj] quickly from the good land that he gave to you.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “many days.”
  2. Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”
  3. Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.
  4. Joshua 23:3 tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
  5. Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”
  6. Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
  7. Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand.
  8. Joshua 23:5 tn The Hebrew text reads, “from before you.” This has not been included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
  9. Joshua 23:5 tn Or “take possession of.”
  10. Joshua 23:5 tn Heb “said to.”
  11. Joshua 23:6 tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”
  12. Joshua 23:7 tn Heb “with.”
  13. Joshua 23:7 tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shavaʿ) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.
  14. Joshua 23:7 tn Or “serve.”
  15. Joshua 23:8 tn Heb “hug.”
  16. Joshua 23:8 tn Heb “done.”
  17. Joshua 23:9 tn Heb “not a man has stood before you.”
  18. Joshua 23:10 tn Or “chases a thousand.”
  19. Joshua 23:10 tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
  20. Joshua 23:10 tn Heb “as he said to you.”
  21. Joshua 23:11 tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.”
  22. Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “and hug.”
  23. Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.”
  24. Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “and go into them, and they into you.”
  25. Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”
  26. Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “in.”
  27. Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.”
  28. Joshua 23:13 tn Or “perish.”
  29. Joshua 23:14 tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”
  30. Joshua 23:14 tn Or “soul.”
  31. Joshua 23:14 tn Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.”
  32. Joshua 23:15 tn Heb “and it will be as every good word which the Lord your God spoke to you has come to pass.”
  33. Joshua 23:15 tn Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.”
  34. Joshua 23:16 tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”
  35. Joshua 23:16 tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
  36. Joshua 23:16 tn Or “perish.”
Listen to 约书亚记 23
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约书亚记 23
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

约书亚的诀别之言

23 此后很长时间，耶和华使以色列人四境太平，没有战事。约书亚年事已高， 2 他召来了以色列的长老、族长、审判官和官长，对他们说：“我已经老了， 3 你们都亲眼看见你们的上帝耶和华怎样为了你们而对付列邦，亲自为你们争战。 4 从约旦河到地中海的这片土地，无论是已征服的还是没有征服的，我已经用抽签的方式分给你们各支派作产业。 5 你们的上帝耶和华必把列邦从你们面前赶出去，使他们离开你们。这样，你们就可以承受他们的土地，正如你们的上帝耶和华的应许。 6 所以，你们应当刚强，谨遵摩西律法书上所记载的一切，不可有半点偏离。 7 不可与你们中间剩下的异族混杂，不可提他们的神明或凭它们起誓，不可供奉、祭拜他们的神明。 8 你们要一如既往地倚靠你们的上帝耶和华， 9 因为祂为你们赶走了强大的外族人，至今无人敌得过你们。 10 你们一个人能打败他们一千人，因为你们的上帝耶和华照着祂的应许为你们争战。 11 所以你们要特别谨慎，爱你们的上帝耶和华。 12 如果你们悖逆，跟你们当中剩下的异族人联合，通婚往来， 13 毫无疑问，你们的上帝耶和华必不再为你们赶走他们。相反，他们还要成为设在你们当中的圈套和陷阱，你们的肉中刺、眼中钉，直到你们在你们的上帝耶和华所赐给你们的这块美好的土地上灭亡。

14 “我快要走完人世的路程了。你们深知你们的上帝耶和华赐给你们的一切美好应许没有一句落空，都已经应验了。 15 正如你们的上帝耶和华已成就祂应许给你们的一切福气，如果你们违背祂，祂必照样降各样灾祸给你们，直到把你们从祂所赐的这美好土地上毁灭。 16 你们如果违背你们的上帝耶和华吩咐你们遵守的约，去供奉、祭拜别的神明，祂必向你们发怒，使你们在祂所赐的这美好土地上迅速灭亡。”

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