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Joshua Calls All Israel

23 Now it happened after many days, after Yahweh had given (A)rest to Israel from all their enemies [a]on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, that (B)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. And you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you, for (C)Yahweh your God is He who has been fighting for you. See, (D)I have allotted to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. And Yahweh your God, He will thrust them out from before you and (E)dispossess them before you; and (F)you will possess their land, just as Yahweh your God [b]promised you. (G)Be very strong, then, to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you will not go along with these nations, these which remain among you, and you will not (H)mention the name of their gods, and you will not (I)make anyone swear by them, and you will not (J)serve them, and you will not bow down to them. But you are to cling to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day. (K)For Yahweh has dispossessed great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, (L)no man has stood before you to this day. 10 (M)One of your men will pursue one thousand, for Yahweh your God is (N)He who fights for you, just as He [c]promised you. 11 So keep your souls very carefully to love Yahweh your God. 12 For if you ever turn back and (O)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and (P)intermarry with them, so that you go along with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that Yahweh your God will not continue to dispossess these nations 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 off this good land which Yahweh 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 Yahweh your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 15 And it will be that just as all the good words which Yahweh your God spoke to you have come upon you, so (T)Yahweh will bring upon you all the calamitous words, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you. 16 (U)When you trespass against the covenant of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of Yahweh will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 23:1 Lit from round about
  2. Joshua 23:5 Lit spoke to
  3. Joshua 23:10 Lit spoke to

Joshua’s Final Words to Israel

23 The years passed, and the Lord had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies. Joshua, who was now very old, called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. He said to them, “I am now a very old man. You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies. I have allotted to you as your homeland all the land of the nations yet unconquered, as well as the land of those we have already conquered—from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea[a] in the west. This land will be yours, for the Lord your God will himself drive out all the people living there now. You will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.

“So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left. Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them. Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.

“For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you. 10 Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. 11 So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

12 “But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them, 13 then know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

14 “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! 15 But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

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Footnotes

  1. 23:4 Hebrew the Great Sea.