Joshua to Succeed Moses

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into (A)this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also (B)shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 (C)because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing (D)to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are (E)the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, (F)the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who (G)shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be (H)as sheep that have no shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take (I)Joshua the son of Nun, a man (J)in whom is the Spirit, and (K)lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall (L)commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, (M)that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him (N)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and (O)commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

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Joshua Chosen to Lead Israel

12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river,[a] and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 14 for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh[b] in the wilderness of Zin.)

15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. 20 Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. 21 When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”

22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. 23 Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. 27:12 Or the mountains of Abarim.
  2. 27:14 Hebrew waters of Meribath-kadesh.