Joshua 1
New King James Version
God’s Commission to Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ (A)assistant, saying: 2 (B)“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 (C)Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 (D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 (E)No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; (F)as I was with Moses, so (G)I will be with you. (H)I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 (I)Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall [a]divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law (J)which Moses My servant commanded you; (K)do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may [b]prosper wherever you go. 8 (L)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but (M)you[c] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 (N)Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; (O)do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Order to Cross the Jordan
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for (P)within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember (Q)the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall [d]pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. (R)Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God (S)be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 1:6 give as a possession
- Joshua 1:7 have success or act wisely
- Joshua 1:8 you shall be constantly in
- Joshua 1:14 cross over ahead of
Joshua 1
EasyEnglish Bible
God tells Joshua what to do
1 The Lord's servant, Moses, had died.[a] Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, who had helped Moses in his work. 2 The Lord said to Joshua,
‘Moses, my servant, is dead. Now you and all these people must get ready to cross the Jordan River. Lead the people of Israel into the land that I am giving to them. 3 I have given to you every part of the ground that you walk on. I promised Moses that I would do this. 4 You will have all the land from the desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north. It will be from the river Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. You will have all the land of the Hittite people. 5 No one can stop you from taking this land as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will always be with you. I will never leave you alone.
6 Be strong and do not be afraid. You will lead these people to take the land. That is the land that I promised to give to their ancestors. 7 Be strong and do not be afraid. Be very careful to do all the things that Moses commanded you to do. Then everything will go well with you, everywhere that you go. 8 You must keep on speaking about the words of God's law. Think about what it says, all the time. Be careful to obey it. Then you will do well, and you will win. 9 Remember that I have told you this: Be strong and do not be afraid. Do not be weak but be brave. I, the Lord your God, will be with you, everywhere that you go.’
Joshua speaks to the Israelites
10 So Joshua commanded the leaders of the people, 11 ‘Go through all the places where the people live. Tell them to get food ready for a journey. In three days, you will cross the Jordan River. You will begin to take the land for yourselves. This is the land that the Lord your God is ready to give to you.’
12 Joshua said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, 13 ‘Remember what Moses, the Lord's servant, told you. The Lord your God is giving to you a place to rest safely.[b] He has given this land to you. 14 Your wives, children and animals can stay in this land that Moses gave to you, on the east side of the Jordan River. But your strong men must cross the river, with their weapons. They must go in front of the other Israelite tribes. You must help them 15 until the Lord gives them a place to rest, as he has already given to you. When all the other tribes are safe in the land, you may return to the land east of the Jordan. Moses gave this land to you.’
16 The people said to Joshua, ‘We will do whatever you tell us. And we will go wherever you send us. 17 As we always obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. The Lord your God was with Moses. So we pray that the Lord will be with you too. 18 If anyone turns against you and he does not obey your commands, we will make sure that he dies. You must be very strong and brave.’
Footnotes
- 1:1 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
- 1:13 ‘Rest’ was very special to the people of Israel. It meant that they had a land where they could grow food and live safely.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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