23 Joshua became very old. The Lord had let the Israelite people live safely for many years. The other nations who lived near them did not attack them. 2 One day, Joshua called all the leaders to meet with him. They were the leaders of Israel's tribes and clans, the judges and the officers. He said to them,
‘I am now very old. 3 You yourselves have seen what the Lord has done to these other nations. It was the Lord who fought against them on your behalf. 4 Remember how I have given land to each of your tribes. The land is between the Jordan River in the east, and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. It is land that belonged to different nations. Some of those people we have chased away, but some of them still remain in the land. 5 The Lord himself will chase those people out of the land, so that you can live there. The Lord your God has promised you all this.
6 Be very strong. Be careful that you obey everything that Moses wrote in the Book of the Law. Do not turn away from any of those rules. 7 Do not become friends of the nations that live near you. Do not call out to their gods. Do not use the names of their gods to make a promise. You must not serve them or worship them. 8 But you must always serve the Lord your God, as you have until now.
9 The Lord has chased out in front of you nations that are great and strong. None of them has been strong enough to win against you. 10 Because the Lord your God fights on your behalf, one of you can chase away 1,000 men! The Lord has promised to do this for you. 11 You must be very careful that you continue to love the Lord your God. 12 You must not turn away from him to join with the other nations that still live near you. Do not marry any of them. Do not live in the way that they live. 13 If you do that, the Lord your God will not chase them out in front of you any more. Instead, those nations will become a danger for you. They will be like a trap that catches you. They will be like sticks that beat your backs, and like sharp thorns in your eyes. They will bring trouble to you until none of you remain in this good land that the Lord your God has given to you.
14 I will soon die, as all men do. The Lord your God has done everything that he promised you he would do. Deep inside yourselves, you know that is true. He has not failed to do even one thing that he promised. 15 The Lord has given to you every good thing that he has promised. But if you refuse to obey him, he will also punish you in every way that he has promised. He will destroy you so that you no longer live in this good land that he has given to you. 16 You must obey the rules that he commanded you to obey in his covenant. You must not serve or worship other gods. If you turn against him, the Lord your God will be very angry with you. Then very soon none of you will remain in this good land that he has given to you.’
23 The Lord gave Israel peace from their enemies around them. He made Israel safe. Many years passed, and Joshua became very old. 2 At this time Joshua called a meeting of all the older leaders, heads of families, judges, and officers of the Israelites. Joshua said, “I have grown very old. 3 You have seen what the Lord did to our enemies. He did this to help us. The Lord your God fought for you. 4 Remember that I told you that your people could have the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. I promised to give you that land, but you don’t control it yet. I have taken the land away from those nations, but they are still living there. 5 But the Lord your God will force the people living there to leave. You will take that land. The Lord will force them to leave, just as he promised.
6 “You must be careful to obey every command written in the Book of the Law [ a ] of Moses . Never turn away from that law. 7 There are still some people living among us who are not Israelites. They worship their own gods. Don’t become friends with them. Don’t serve or worship their gods. 8 You must continue to follow the Lord your God. You have done this in the past, and you must continue to do it.
9 “The Lord helped you defeat many great and powerful nations. He forced them to leave. No nation has been able to defeat you. 10 With his help, one man from Israel could defeat 1000 enemy soldiers, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised. 11 So you must continue to love the Lord your God.
12 “Never stop following him. Don’t become friends with those people who did not leave when you took the land. They are not part of Israel. Don’t marry any of their people. If you become friends with those people, 13 the Lord your God will not help you defeat your enemies. They will become like a trap for you. They will cause you pain—like smoke and dust in your eyes. And you will be forced to leave this good land. The Lord your God gave you this land. But you can lose it if you don’t obey this command.
14 “It is almost time for me to die. You know and really believe that the Lord has done many great things for you. You know that the Lord your God has not failed in any of his promises. He has kept every promise that he has made to us. 15 Every good promise that the Lord your God made to us has come true. But in the same way, the Lord will make his other promises come true: If you do wrong, bad things will happen to you. You will be forced to leave this good land that the Lord your God has given to you. 16 This will happen if you refuse to keep your agreement with the Lord your God. You will lose this land if you go and serve other gods. You must not worship those other gods. If you do, the Lord will become very angry with you. Then you will quickly be forced to leave this good land that he gave you.”
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.
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.”
23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest ( A ) from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, ( B ) 2 summoned all Israel—their elders, ( C ) leaders, judges and officials ( D ) —and said to them: “I am very old. ( E ) 3 You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. ( F ) 4 Remember how I have allotted ( G ) as an inheritance ( H ) for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea ( I ) in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will push them out ( J ) for your sake. He will drive them out ( K ) before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you. ( L )
6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law ( M ) of Moses, without turning aside ( N ) to the right or to the left. ( O ) 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear ( P ) by them. You must not serve them or bow down ( Q ) to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord ( R ) your God, as you have until now.
9 “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; ( S ) to this day no one has been able to withstand you. ( T ) 10 One of you routs a thousand, ( U ) because the Lord your God fights for you, ( V ) just as he promised. 11 So be very careful ( W ) to love the Lord ( X ) your God.
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them ( Y ) and associate with them, ( Z ) 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out ( AA ) these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares ( AB ) and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, ( AC ) until you perish from this good land, ( AD ) which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. ( AE ) You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise ( AF ) has been fulfilled; not one has failed. ( AG ) 15 But just as all the good things ( AH ) the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things ( AI ) he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you ( AJ ) from this good land he has given you. ( AK ) 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord ’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you. ( AL ) ”
