Joshua 23
New American Standard Bible
Joshua’s Farewell Address
23 Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given (A)rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that (B)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, their judges, and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for (C)the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 See, (D)I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have eliminated, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the [a]west. 5 And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and [b](E)drive them from you; and (F)you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God [c]promised you. 6 (G)Be very determined, then, to keep and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, 7 so that you will not [d]associate with these nations, these which remain with you, or (H)mention the name of their gods, or (I)make anyone swear by them, or (J)serve them, or bow down to them. 8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 (K)For the Lord has [e]driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, (L)no one has stood against you to this day. 10 (M)One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is (N)He who fights for you, just as He [f]promised you. 11 So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and (O)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and (P)intermarry with them, so that you [g]associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to [h]drive these nations out 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 this good land which the Lord 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 the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have [i]been fulfilled for you, not [j]one of them has failed. 15 But it will come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so (T)the Lord will bring upon you [k]all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 (U)When you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 23:4 Lit sunset
- Joshua 23:5 Or dispossess
- Joshua 23:5 Lit spoke to
- Joshua 23:7 Lit come among
- Joshua 23:9 Or dispossessed
- Joshua 23:10 Lit spoke to
- Joshua 23:12 Lit come among
- Joshua 23:13 Or dispossess
- Joshua 23:14 Lit come
- Joshua 23:14 Lit one word
- Joshua 23:15 Lit every bad word
Joshua 23
King James Version
23 And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.
2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:
3 And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you.
4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.
5 And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you.
6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
7 That ye come not 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 yourselves unto them:
8 But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.
9 For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.
10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.
11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.
12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
13 Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.
15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.
Joshua 23
Living Bible
23 Long after this, when the Lord had given success to the people of Israel against their enemies and when Joshua was very old, 2 he called for the leaders of Israel—the elders, judges, and officers—and said to them, “I am an old man now, 3 and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. He has fought for you against your enemies and has given you their land. 4-5 And I have divided to you the land of the nations yet unconquered as well as the land of those you have already destroyed. All the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea shall be yours, for the Lord your God will drive out all the people living there now, and you will live there instead, just as he has promised you.
6 “But be very sure to follow all the instructions written in the book of the laws of Moses; do not deviate from them the least little bit. 7 Be sure that you do not mix with the heathen people still remaining in the land; do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them. 8 But follow the Lord your God just as you have until now. 9 He has driven out great, strong nations from before you, and no one has been able to defeat you. 10 Each one of you has 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 keep on loving him.
12 “If you don’t, and if you begin to intermarry with the nations around you, 13 then know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no longer chase those nations from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will disappear from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Soon I will be going the way of all the earth—I am going to die.
“You know very well that God’s promises to you have all come true. 15-16 But as certainly as the Lord has given you the good things he promised, just as certainly he will bring evil upon you if you disobey him. For if you worship other gods, he will completely wipe you out from this good land that the Lord has given you. His anger will rise hot against you, and you will quickly perish.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.