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Joshua Addresses the Israelites

After the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh said to Joshua son of Nun, the assistant[a] of Moses, saying, “My servant Moses is dead. Get up and cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites.[b] Every place that the soles of your feet will tread, I have given it to you, as I promised[c] to Moses. From the wilderness and the Lebanon,[d] up to the great river, the river Euphrates, all of the land of the Hittites, and up to the great sea in the west,[e] will be your territory. No one will stand before you[f] all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you, and I will not forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you will give the people this land as an inheritance that I swore to their ancestors[g] to give them. Only be strong and very courageous to observe diligently the whole law[h] that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it, to the right or left, so that you may succeed wherever you go.[i] The scroll of this law will not depart from your mouth; you will meditate on it day and night so that you may observe diligently all that is written[j] in it. For then you will succeed in your ways and prosper. Did I not command you? Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”[k]

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 1:1 Or “servant”
  2. Joshua 1:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Joshua 1:3 Or “spoke”
  4. Joshua 1:4 Literally “this Lebanon”; “Lebanon” in Hebrew means “white mountain”
  5. Joshua 1:4 Literally “the great sea of the setting sun”
  6. Joshua 1:5 Or “in your presence”
  7. Joshua 1:6 Or “fathers”
  8. Joshua 1:7 Literally “to keep and to act according to the whole law”
  9. Joshua 1:7 Literally “in all that you go”
  10. Joshua 1:8 Literally “to keep and to act according to all that is written”
  11. Joshua 1:9 Literally “in all that you go”

Orders from the Lord

After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord spoke to Joshua, Nun’s son. He had been Moses’ helper. “My servant Moses is dead. Now get ready to cross over the Jordan with this entire people to the land that I am going to give to the Israelites. I am giving you every place where you set foot, exactly as I promised Moses. Your territory will stretch from the desert and the Lebanon as far as the great Euphrates River, including all Hittite land, up to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you during your lifetime. I will be with you in the same way I was with Moses. I won’t desert you or leave you. Be brave and strong, because you are the one who will help this people take possession of the land, which I pledged to give to their ancestors.

“Be very brave and strong as you carefully obey all of the Instruction that Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t deviate even a bit from it, either to the right or left. Then you will have success wherever you go. Never stop speaking about this Instruction scroll. Recite it day and night so you can carefully obey everything written in it. Then you will accomplish your objectives and you will succeed. I’ve commanded you to be brave and strong, haven’t I? Don’t be alarmed or terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

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