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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.”
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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

  1. Joshua 23:4 Lit sunset
  2. Joshua 23:5 Or dispossess
  3. Joshua 23:5 Lit spoke to
  4. Joshua 23:7 Lit come among
  5. Joshua 23:9 Or dispossessed
  6. Joshua 23:10 Lit spoke to
  7. Joshua 23:12 Lit come among
  8. Joshua 23:13 Or dispossess
  9. Joshua 23:14 Lit come
  10. Joshua 23:14 Lit one word
  11. Joshua 23:15 Lit every bad word
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Joshua 22
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