Joshua 23
Good News Translation
Joshua's Farewell Address
23 Much later the Lord gave Israel security from their enemies around them. By that time Joshua was very old, 2 so he called all Israel, the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of the people, and said, “I am very old now. 3 You have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you. The Lord your God has been fighting for you. 4 I have assigned as the possession of your tribes the land of the nations that are still left, as well as of all the nations that I have already conquered, from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will make them retreat from you, and he will drive them away as you advance. You shall have their land, as the Lord your God has promised you. 6 So be careful to obey and do everything that is written in the book of the Law of Moses. Do not neglect any part of it, 7 and then you will not associate with these peoples left among you or speak the names of their gods or use those names in taking vows or worship those gods or bow down to them. 8 Instead, be faithful to the Lord, as you have been till now. 9 The Lord has driven great and powerful nations out as you advanced, and no one has ever been able to stand against you. 10 (A)Any one of you can make a thousand men run away, because the Lord your God is fighting for you, just as he promised. 11 Be careful, then, to love the Lord your God. 12 If you are disloyal and join with the nations that are still left among you and intermarry with them, 13 you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive these nations out as you advance. Rather, they will be as dangerous for you as a trap or a pit and as painful as a whip on your back or thorns in your eyes. And this will last until none of you are left in this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now my time has come to die. Every one of you knows in his heart and soul that the Lord your God has given you all the good things that he promised. Every promise he made has been kept; not one has failed. 15 But just as he kept every promise that he made to you, so he will carry out every threat. 16 If you do not keep the covenant which the Lord your God commanded you to keep and if you serve and worship other gods, then in his anger he will punish you, and soon none of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.”
Joshua 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Joshua Exhorts the People
23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,(A) 2 Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years,(B) 3 and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.(C) 4 I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you.(D) 6 Therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left,(E) 7 so that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves down to them,(F) 8 but hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.(G) 9 For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations, and as for you, no one has been able to withstand you to this day.(H) 10 One of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you.(I) 11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you turn back and join the survivors of these nations left here among you and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours,(J) 13 know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.(K)
14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.(L) 15 But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the bad things until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.(M) 16 If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on you, and 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 that he has given to you.”
Joshua 23
The Message
Joshua’s Charge
23 1-2 A long time later, after God had given Israel rest from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was a venerable old man, Joshua called all Israel together—elders, chiefs, judges, and officers. Then he spoke to them:
2-3 “I’m an old man. I’ve lived a long time. You have seen everything that God has done to these nations because of you. He did it because he’s God, your God. He fought for you.
4-5 “Stay alert: I have assigned to you by lot these nations that remain as an inheritance to your tribes—these in addition to the nations I have already cut down—from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. God, your God, will drive them out of your path until there’s nothing left of them and you’ll take over their land just as God, your God, promised you.
6-8 “Now, stay strong and steady. Obediently do everything written in the Book of The Revelation of Moses—don’t miss a detail. Don’t get mixed up with the nations that are still around. Don’t so much as speak the names of their gods or swear by them. And by all means don’t worship or pray to them. Hold tight to God, your God, just as you’ve done up to now.
9-10 “God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it—one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is God, your God. Because he fights for you, just as he promised you.
11-13 “Now, vigilantly guard your souls: Love God, your God. Because if you wander off and start taking up with these remaining nations still among you (intermarry, say, and have other dealings with them), know for certain that God, your God, will not get rid of these nations for you. They’ll be nothing but trouble to you—horsewhips on your backs and sand in your eyes—until you’re the ones who will be driven out of this good land that God, your God, has given you.
14 “As you can see, I’m about to go the way we all end up going. Know this with all your heart, with everything in you, that not one detail has failed of all the good things God, your God, promised you. It has all happened. Nothing’s left undone—not so much as a word.
15-16 “But just as sure as everything good that God, your God, has promised has come true, so also God will bring to pass every bad thing until there’s nothing left of you in this good land that God has given you. If you leave the path of the Covenant of God, your God, that he commanded you, go off and serve and worship other gods, God’s anger will blaze out against you. In no time at all there’ll be nothing left of you, no sign that you’ve ever been in this good land he gave you.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson