Joshua 23
23
Joshua Encourages the People
1The Lord gave Israel peace from their enemies around them. He made Israel safe. Many years passed, and Joshua became very old. 2At 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. 3You have seen what the Lord did to our enemies. He did this to help us. The Lord your God fought for you. 4Remember 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. 5But 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#23:6 Law Or “Teachings.” of Moses. Never turn away from that law. 7That’s why you must not make friends with the people of other nations who still live among you. You must not serve or worship their gods. Don’t even mention the names of their gods when you pray or make an oath. 8You must continue to follow the Lord your God as you have done in the past.
9“The Lord helped you defeat many great and powerful nations. He forced them to leave. No nation has been able to defeat you. 10With his help, one man from Israel could defeat 1000 enemy soldiers, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised. 11So 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, 13the 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. 15Every 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. 16This 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.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Joshua 23
23
The Last Words of Joshua
1The Lord gave Israel peace from their enemies around them. Many years passed, and Joshua grew very old. 2He called a meeting of all the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel. He said, “I am now very old. 3You have seen what the Lord has done to our enemies to help us. The Lord your God fought for you. 4Remember that your people have been given their land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the land I promised to give you. 5The Lord your God will force out the people living there. The Lord will push them out ahead of you. And you will own the land, as he has promised you.
6“Be strong. You must be careful to obey everything commanded in the Book of the Teachings of Moses. Do not stray from it either from the left or the right. 7Don’t become friends with the people living among us who are not Israelites. Don’t say the names of their gods or make anyone swear by them. Don’t serve or worship them. 8You must continue to follow the Lord your God, as you have done in the past.
9“The Lord has forced many great and powerful nations to leave ahead of you. No nation has been able to defeat you. 10With his help, one Israelite could defeat a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do. 11So you must be careful to love the Lord your God.
12“If you turn away from the way of the Lord and become friends with these people who are not part of Israel and marry them, 13the Lord your God will not help you defeat your enemies. They will be like traps for you, like whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, and none of you will be left in this good land the Lord your God has given you.
14“It’s almost time for me to die. You know and fully believe that the Lord has done great things for you. You know that he has not failed to keep any of his promises. 15Every good promise that the Lord your God made has come true, and in the same way, his other promises will come true. He promised that evil will come to you and that he will destroy you from this good land that he gave you. 16This will happen if you don’t keep your agreement with the Lord your God. If you go and serve other gods and worship them, the Lord will become very angry with you. Then none of you will be left in this good land he has given you.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.