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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 Catholic Bible

Chapter 23[a]

Joshua’s Final Discourse. 1 Quite some time later, after the Lord had given Israel rest from all of its surrounding enemies, and when Joshua had grown old and was well advanced in years, 2 Joshua summoned all of Israel including its leaders and officials, their judges and their officers, and he said to them, “I am now an old man, well advanced in years 3 and you have seen all that the Lord, your God, has done to all of these nations on your behalf, for the Lord, your God, has fought for you. 4 I have divided up by lot these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes, all the nations that I have conquered between the Jordan and the Great Sea to the west. 5 The Lord, your God, himself will drive them out before you. He will push them out of your sight so that you can take possession of the land that the Lord, your God, has promised you. 6 Be most courageous, and be careful to observe everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses. Do not turn away from it to the right or the left. 7 Avoid associating with these nations that still remain among you. Do not mention the names of their gods; do not swear by them. Do not serve them; do not worship them. 8 Hold fast to the Lord, your God,[b] as you have done up to the present. 9 The Lord has driven out great and powerful nations from before you. To this day no one has been able to stand up against you. 10 Just one of you has been able to route a thousand, because the Lord, your God, has fought for you, just as he promised you that he would do. 11 So be very careful to love the Lord, your God.

12 [c]“But if you were to turn away and you were to ally yourselves with the survivors of the nations that remain here, and you were to intermarry with them, and you were to associate with them, 13 then you should know for sure that the Lord, your God, will no longer drive out these nations before you. They will be like snares and traps to you, as if they were scourges upon your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you finally vanish from this good land that the Lord, your God, has given you.

14 “I am now about to go the way of all upon the earth. You know very well in your hearts and your souls that not one of the good things that the Lord, your God, promised you has failed to take place. Every promise has been fulfilled, not one of them has been broken. 15 Just as all the good things that the Lord, your God, has promised you have come true, so the Lord could bring upon you all the evil that he has threatened until he has wiped you out from this good land that the Lord, your God, has given you. 16 If you transgress the covenant that the Lord, your God, has commanded you to observe, and you go and serve other gods and worship them, then the Lord’s anger will blaze out against you. You will quickly perish from the good land that the Lord, your God, has given you.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 23:1 From the testament of Joshua (as from the discourse of Moses in Deuteronomy) Israel understands that its history is the work of the Lord. The land has been given to it because it is God’s people, but if it compromises with pagan customs and forms of worship it will suffer the loss of its inheritance.
  2. Joshua 23:8 Hold fast to the Lord, your God: these words are the essence of Joshua’s lifelong commitment to God and his absolute rule of life for others to follow.
  3. Joshua 23:12 The question of intermarriage and the dire predictions that are made here are not in any way a contrast to the actions of a loving and merciful God who wants what is truly best for his children. Would that these words were heeded so much pain and suffering could have been avoided.
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Joshua 23
New King James Version

Joshua’s Farewell Address

23 Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord (A)had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua (B)was old, advanced in age. 2 And Joshua (C)called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them:

“I am old, advanced in age. 3 You have seen all that the (D)Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the (E)Lord your God is He who has fought for you. 4 See, (F)I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. 5 And the Lord your God (G)will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, (H)as the Lord your God promised you. 6 (I)Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, (J)lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 7 and lest you (K)go[a] among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not (L)make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to (M)swear by them; you shall not (N)serve them nor bow down to them, 8 but you shall (O)hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 (P)For the Lord has [b]driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. 10 (Q)One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, (R)as He promised you. 11 (S)Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. 12 Or else, if indeed you do (T)go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and (U)make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, 13 know for certain that (V)the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. (W)But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

14 “Behold, this day (X)I[c] am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that (Y)not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 15 (Z)Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you (AA)all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 [d]When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the (AB)anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 23:7 associate with
  2. Joshua 23:9 dispossessed
  3. Joshua 23:14 I am going to die.
  4. Joshua 23:16 Or if ever
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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)”

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