Joshua 23
Evangelical Heritage Version
A Warning and a Promise
23 After many days,[a] when the Lord had given Israel rest from all its enemies all around, when Joshua had grown old and advanced in years, 2 Joshua summoned all Israel—its elders, its heads, its judges, and its officers, and he said to them:
I have grown old and advanced in years. 3 You yourselves have seen everything that the Lord your God has done for you against all these nations. Yes, the Lord your God was fighting for you! 4 See now, I have allotted to your tribes an inheritance from these nations that remain unconquered, as well as from the nations that I have destroyed. It extends from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will push them away from you and drive them out of your presence, ⎣until they perish. He will send wild animals among them until he completely destroys them and their kings from your presence⎦[b] and you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 You must be very resolute in carrying out all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses by not turning from it to the right or to the left, 7 by not intermingling with these nations that remain with you. Do not ever call on or swear by the names of their gods. Never serve them and never bow down to them. 8 But hold fast to the Lord your God, just as you have been doing to this day.
9 The Lord has driven out great and powerful nations from among you. As for you, no one has stood up against you to this day. 10 One of you would put a thousand to flight because the Lord your God himself was fighting for you, just as he promised you. 11 Therefore, for your own sakes be very careful to love the Lord your God.
12 But if you do turn away and keep close company with the remnant of these nations that remain with you, and if you intermarry with them and intermingle with them and they with you, 13 then know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations from among you, but they will become a trap and a snare for you, a whip for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from your good land that the Lord your God has given you.
14 See now, I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and with all your soul that not one promise out of all the good promises that the Lord your God promised you has failed. All of them have come true for you. Not one promise from him has failed.[c]
15 But just as every good promise that the Lord your God promised to you has come true for you, likewise the Lord will cause every promise of disaster to come true for you until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you. 16 If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God that he commanded you, and you go and serve other gods, and you bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land that he has given you.
Footnotes
- Joshua 23:1 The many days amounted to about seven years.
- Joshua 23:5 The words in the half-brackets are not in the Hebrew text, but they are in the Greek Old Testament. The words missing from the Hebrew text lie between two occurrences of your presence.
- Joshua 23:14 Literally fallen
Joshua 23
Christian Standard Bible
Joshua’s Farewell Address
23 A long time after the Lord had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them,(A) Joshua was old, advanced in age.(B) 2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers,(C) and said to them, “I am old, advanced in age, 3 and you have seen for yourselves everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your account, because it was the Lord your God who was fighting for you.(D) 4 See, I have allotted these remaining nations to you as an inheritance for your tribes,(E) including all the nations I have destroyed, from the Jordan westward to the Mediterranean Sea. 5 The Lord your God will force them back on your account and drive them out before you so that you can take possession of their land,(F) as the Lord your God promised you.
6 “Be very strong(G) and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left 7 and so that you do not associate with these nations remaining among you. Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them;(H) do not serve them or bow in worship to them. 8 Instead, be loyal to the Lord your God, as you have been to this day.(I)
9 “The Lord has driven out great and powerful nations before you,(J) and no one is able to stand against you to this day.(K) 10 One of you routed a thousand(L) because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he promised.[a](M) 11 So diligently watch yourselves! Love the Lord your God! 12 If you ever turn away and become loyal to the rest of these nations remaining among you,(N) and if you intermarry or associate with them(O) and they with you, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you,(P) a sharp stick[b] for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God has given you.
14 “I am now going the way of the whole earth,(Q) and you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises the Lord your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.(R) 15 Since every good thing the Lord your God promised you has come about, so he will bring on you every bad thing until he has annihilated you from this good land the Lord your God has given you.(S) 16 If you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow in worship to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land he has given you.”
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