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The Lord Commissions Joshua

After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready![a] Cross the Jordan River.[b] Lead these people into the land that I am ready to hand over to them.[c] I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses.[d] Your territory will extend from the desert[e] in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all Syria)[f] and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea[g] in the west.[h] No one will be able to resist you[i] all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone. Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them.[j] Make sure you are[k] very strong and brave! Carefully obey[l] all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep.[m] Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful[n] in all you do.[o] This law scroll must not leave your lips.[p] You must memorize it[q] day and night so you can carefully obey[r] all that is written in it. Then you will prosper[s] and be successful.[t] I repeat,[u] be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic,[v] for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.”[w]

Joshua Prepares for the Invasion

10 Joshua instructed[x] the leaders of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your supplies, for within three days you will cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to you.’”[y]

12 Joshua told the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: 13 “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you.[z] The Lord your God is giving you a place to settle and is handing this land over to you.[aa] 14 Your wives, children, and cattle may stay in the land that Moses assigned to you east of the Jordan River. But all of you warriors must cross over armed for battle ahead of your brothers.[ab] You must help them 15 until the Lord gives your brothers a place like yours to settle and they conquer the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to them. Then you may go back to your allotted land and occupy the land Moses the Lord’s servant assigned you east of the Jordan.”[ac]

16 They told Joshua, “We will do everything you say. We will go wherever you send us. 17 Just as we obeyed[ad] Moses, so we will obey you. But[ae] may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Any man who rebels against what you say and does not obey all your commands will be executed.[af] But[ag] be strong and brave!”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 1:2 tn Heb “Get up!”
  2. Joshua 1:2 tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).
  3. Joshua 1:2 tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”
  4. Joshua 1:3 tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (netattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the Lord’s decree to Abraham that he would give this land to his descendants.
  5. Joshua 1:4 tn A מִדְבָּר (midbar, “wilderness, desert”) refers to a dry region which is characterized by receiving less than twelve inches of rain per year. It therefore cannot support trees, yet may have sparse vegetation if it receives more than six inches of rain. If it receives less than six inches, then “desert” is an appropriate term (usually not a sandy desert). Most cases of the term are rendered as “wilderness” in NET. Here it refers to the southern border of the nation which stretches down into Sinai.
  6. Joshua 1:4 tn Heb “all the land of the Hittites.” The expression “the land of the Hittites” does not refer to Anatolia (modern Turkey), where the ancient Hittite kingdom of the second millennium b.c. was located, but rather to Syria, the “Hatti land” mentioned in inscriptions of the first millennium b.c. (see HALOT 363-64 s.v. חִתִּי). The phrase is omitted in the LXX and may be a scribal addition.
  7. Joshua 1:4 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
  8. Joshua 1:4 tn Heb “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, even to the great sea [at] the place where the sun sets, your territory will be.”
  9. Joshua 1:5 tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.
  10. Joshua 1:6 tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.
  11. Joshua 1:7 tn Or “Only be.”
  12. Joshua 1:7 tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”
  13. Joshua 1:7 tn Heb “commanded you.”
  14. Joshua 1:7 tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.
  15. Joshua 1:7 tn Heb “in all which you go.”
  16. Joshua 1:8 tn Heb “mouth.”sn This law scroll must not leave your lips. The ancient practice of reading aloud to oneself as an aid to memorization is in view here.
  17. Joshua 1:8 tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 237 s.v. I הגה).
  18. Joshua 1:8 tn Heb “be careful to do.”
  19. Joshua 1:8 tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”
  20. Joshua 1:8 tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.
  21. Joshua 1:9 tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.
  22. Joshua 1:9 tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”
  23. Joshua 1:9 tn Heb “in all which you go.”
  24. Joshua 1:10 tn Or “commanded.”
  25. Joshua 1:11 tn Heb “to enter to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving to you to possess it.”
  26. Joshua 1:13 tn Heb “remember the word which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you.”sn This command can be found in Deut 3:18-20. In vv. 13-15 Joshua paraphrases the command, as the third person reference to Moses in v. 14 indicates.
  27. Joshua 1:13 tn Heb “is providing rest for you and is giving to you this land.”sn “This land” refers to the trans-Jordanian lands allotted to these tribes.
  28. Joshua 1:14 tn Heb “But you must cross over armed for battle before your brothers, all [you] mighty men of strength.”
  29. Joshua 1:15 tn Heb “Then you may return to the land of your possession and possess it, that which Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave to you beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun.”
  30. Joshua 1:17 tn Heb “listened to.”
  31. Joshua 1:17 tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 18 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).
  32. Joshua 1:18 tn Heb “any man who rebels against your mouth and does not listen to your words, to all which you command us, will be put to death.”
  33. Joshua 1:18 tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 17 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).

耶和华勉励约书亚

耶和华的仆人摩西死了以后,耶和华晓谕摩西的帮手,的儿子约书亚,说: “我的仆人摩西死了,现在你要起来,和众百姓过这约旦河,往我所要赐给以色列人的地去。 凡你们脚掌所踏之地,我都照着我所应许摩西的话赐给你们了。 从旷野和这黎巴嫩,直到伯拉大河,人的全地,又到大海日落之处,都要做你们的境界。 你平生的日子,必无一人能在你面前站立得住。我怎样与摩西同在,也必照样与你同在。我必不撇下你,也不丢弃你。 你当刚强壮胆,因为你必使这百姓承受那地为业,就是我向他们列祖起誓应许赐给他们的地。 只要刚强,大大壮胆,谨守遵行我仆人摩西所吩咐你的一切律法,不可偏离左右,使你无论往哪里去,都可以顺利。 这律法书不可离开你的口,总要昼夜思想,好使你谨守遵行这书上所写的一切话。如此,你的道路就可以亨通,凡事顺利。 我岂没有吩咐你吗?你当刚强壮胆!不要惧怕,也不要惊惶,因为你无论往哪里去,耶和华你的神必与你同在。”

约书亚预备济约旦

10 于是,约书亚吩咐百姓的官长说: 11 “你们要走遍营中,吩咐百姓说:‘当预备食物,因为三日之内你们要过这约旦河,进去得耶和华你们神赐你们为业之地。’”

12 约书亚鲁本人、迦得人和玛拿西半支派的人说: 13 “你们要追念耶和华的仆人摩西所吩咐你们的话说:耶和华你们的神使你们得享平安,也必将这地赐给你们。 14 你们的妻子、孩子和牲畜都可以留在约旦河东摩西所给你们的地。但你们中间一切大能的勇士,都要带着兵器在你们的弟兄前面过去,帮助他们, 15 等到耶和华使你们的弟兄像你们一样得享平安,并且得着耶和华你们神所赐他们为业之地,那时才可以回你们所得之地,承受为业,就是耶和华的仆人摩西约旦河东向日出之地所给你们的。” 16 他们回答约书亚说:“你所吩咐我们行的,我们都必行;你所差遣我们去的,我们都必去。 17 我们从前在一切事上怎样听从摩西,现在也必照样听从你。唯愿耶和华你的神与你同在,像与摩西同在一样。 18 无论什么人违背你的命令,不听从你所吩咐他的一切话,就必治死他。你只要刚强壮胆。”