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.”
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- Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “many days.”
- Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.”
- Joshua 23:1 tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.
- Joshua 23:3 tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
- Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”
- Joshua 23:4 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
- 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.
- 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.
- Joshua 23:5 tn Or “take possession of.”
- Joshua 23:5 tn Heb “said to.”
- Joshua 23:6 tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”
- Joshua 23:7 tn Heb “with.”
- 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.
- Joshua 23:7 tn Or “serve.”
- Joshua 23:8 tn Heb “hug.”
- Joshua 23:8 tn Heb “done.”
- Joshua 23:9 tn Heb “not a man has stood before you.”
- Joshua 23:10 tn Or “chases a thousand.”
- Joshua 23:10 tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”
- Joshua 23:10 tn Heb “as he said to you.”
- Joshua 23:11 tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.”
- Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “and hug.”
- Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.”
- Joshua 23:12 tn Heb “and go into them, and they into you.”
- Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”
- Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “in.”
- Joshua 23:13 tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.”
- Joshua 23:13 tn Or “perish.”
- Joshua 23:14 tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”
- Joshua 23:14 tn Or “soul.”
- 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.”
- 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.”
- Joshua 23:15 tn Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.”
- Joshua 23:16 tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”
- Joshua 23:16 tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
- Joshua 23:16 tn Or “perish.”
Joshua 23
World English Bible
23 After many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, 2 Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, “I am old and well advanced in years. 3 You have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you; for it is Yahweh your God who has fought for you. 4 Behold, I have allotted to you these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the great sea toward the going down of the sun. 5 Yahweh your God will thrust them out from before you, and drive them from out of your sight. You shall possess their land, as Yahweh your God spoke to you.
6 “Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn away from it to the right hand or to the left; 7 that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them; 8 but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day.
9 “For Yahweh has driven great and strong nations out from before you. But as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. 10 One man of you shall chase a thousand; for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you, as he spoke to you. 11 Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God.
12 “But if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you; 13 know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.
14 “Behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which Yahweh your God spoke concerning you. All have happened to you. Not one thing has failed of it. 15 It shall happen that as all the good things have come on you of which Yahweh your God spoke to you, so Yahweh will bring on you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you, 16 when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them. Then Yahweh’s anger will be kindled against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which he has given to you.”
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