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The Last Words of Joshua

23 The Lord gave Israel ·peace [rest] from their enemies around them. Many years passed, and Joshua grew very old. He called a meeting of ·all [L all Israel:] the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel. He said, “I am now very old. You have seen what the Lord has done to ·our enemies [L these nations] to help us. The Lord your God fought for you. ·Remember that [See; T Behold] ·your people have been given their [L I have alloted to you the] land between the Jordan River and the ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea in the west, the land I promised to give you. The Lord your God will ·force [drive] out the people living there. The Lord will push them out ahead of you. And you will ·own the [occupy/possess their] land, as he has promised you.

“Be strong. You must be careful to obey everything ·commanded [L that is written] in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law] of Moses. Do not ·stray [L turn aside] from it either from the left or the right. Don’t ·become friends [associate; mix] with ·the people living among us who are not Israelites [L these nations remaining among you]. Don’t ·say [mention; or invoke] the names of their gods or make anyone swear by them. Don’t serve or ·worship [bow down before] them. You must ·continue to follow [L hold fast to; cling to] the Lord your God, as you have done ·in the past [L to this day].

“The Lord has ·forced to leave [driven out] many great and powerful nations. No nation has been able to ·defeat [resist; stand before] you [L to this day]. 10 With his help, one Israelite ·could defeat [routs] a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do. 11 So you must be careful to love the Lord your God.

12 [L But] If you turn away from the way of the Lord and ·become friends with [ally yourselves with; cling to] ·these people who are not part of Israel [the remnant of these nations who remain among you] and marry them, 13 the Lord your God will not ·help you defeat [drive out] your enemies. They will be like ·traps [L a snare and a trap] for you, like whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, ·and none of you will be left in [L until you perish from] this good land the Lord your God has given you.

14 “·It’s almost time for me to die [L Look, today I am going the way of all the earth]. You know ·and fully believe [L in your hearts and souls] that the Lord has not failed to keep a single one of the good promises he made. He has fulfilled every one of them. Not one of them has failed. 15 Every good promise that the Lord your God made has come true, and in the same way, his other promises will come true. He promised that evil will come to you and that he will destroy you from this good land that he gave you. 16 This will happen if you don’t keep your ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with the Lord your God. If you go and serve other gods and ·worship [bow down before] them, the ·Lord will become very angry with you [L anger of the Lord will burn against you]. Then ·none of you will be left in [L you will quickly perish from] this good land he has given you.”

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Joshua’s Farewell Address

23 A long time after that, when the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies [a]on every side, and Joshua had grown old and [b]advanced in years, that Joshua called all Israel, their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old and advanced in years. And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you.(A) See, I have allotted to you these nations that remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan [on the east] to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea toward the setting sun. The Lord your God will push them away from before you and drive them out of your sight and you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God [c]promised you. Be steadfast and very determined to keep and to do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not turn aside from it to the right or the left, so that you do not associate with these nations which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear [an oath by them], or serve them, or bow down to them. But you are to cling to the Lord your God, just as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, no man has been able to stand [in opposition] before you to this day. 10 One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who is fighting for you, just as He [d]promised you. 11 So be very careful and watchful of yourselves to [e]love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these that are left among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know and understand with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and 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 I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God has promised concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. 15 It shall come about that just as every good word which the Lord your God spoke and promised to you has [f]been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you every bad thing [about which He warned you], until He has destroyed and eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 When you transgress (violate) the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you [to follow], and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 23:1 Lit from round about.
  2. Joshua 23:1 Lit and he had entered days.
  3. Joshua 23:5 All through the time of Joshua’s leadership he kept giving as his statement of faith the fact that the Lord had spoken, the Lord had promised.
  4. Joshua 23:10 Lit spoke to.
  5. Joshua 23:11 The word love is sometimes used to express the covenant relationship between Israel and God. Everything depended on whether or not Israel would continue to be faithful to the covenant established by God. Joshua knew the trap the pagan nations would be to Israel, so he proposed three guidelines: first, there must be obedience to God’s word (23:6); second, there must be a diligent separation from the Canaanite nations (23:7); finally, there must be a dependence on the Lord with heartfelt love (23:8-11).
  6. Joshua 23:15 Lit come to.