Joshua 23

¹Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.

⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

²³So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

⁹He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.

⁸And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.

⁴And now that the Lord your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them, you may return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you across the Jordan.

¹Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

¹Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.

²⁸Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.

¹⁷From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.

¹⁸When they came to him, he said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.

¹⁴The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

⁴²And because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.

¹⁴There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, because the Lord fought for Israel.

⁵You will see this with your own eyes, and you yourselves will say, ‘The Lord is great—even beyond the borders of Israel.’”

¹For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.

²With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out.

⁹Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

¹⁰And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the Lord at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.

⁶All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you.

⁷Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

²This is the land that remains: All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites,

²And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

⁶All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you.

¹¹Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

²³then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.

⁵²you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

⁵³You are to take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

¹²For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,

¹³know for sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from any of the words I command you today, and do not go after other gods to serve them.

³²So be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

⁷Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.

⁸This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

³²See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

¹³Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.

⁴Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.

²and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

³Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

⁷“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.

¹²For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,

³³They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

²⁰You are to fear the Lord your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.

⁵But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

⁴You are to follow the Lord your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.

²²For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.

⁴But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

⁵No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

²³then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.

⁵The Lord your God will push them out of your way and drive them out before you, so that you can take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.

³⁰Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.

⁸This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

⁹Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

¹⁴And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

³⁰How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

⁸Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

²²Do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God Himself will fight for you.”

¹⁴The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

¹Of David. Contend with my opponents, O Lord; fight against those who fight against me.

⁴For the Lord your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

⁵But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

⁵And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

⁶These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts.

²⁸And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

²⁰But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

²¹keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

³But the one who loves God is known by God.

²³Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

³Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

⁶and those who turn back from following the Lord, neither seeking the Lord nor inquiring of Him.”

²⁴But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

⁴Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.

²⁴For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

¹After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

²And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.

¹⁶You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

⁵⁵But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.

³³They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

²and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?

³So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”

²²The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam had committed and did not turn away from them.

²³Finally, the Lord removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.

²⁴They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

²“I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man.

³If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments,

⁴I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

⁴³Thus the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.

⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

¹⁰Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹⁹God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

¹⁵If, however, you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

¹⁶You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

¹⁶hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.

¹Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.

¹⁷So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who put their young men to the sword in the sanctuary, sparing neither young men nor young women, neither elderly nor infirm. God gave them all into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,

¹⁴If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,

¹⁵and if you reject My statutes, despise My ordinances, and neglect to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,

¹After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the Lord.

²So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.

²⁵After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form—doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and provoking Him to anger—

²⁶I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.

²⁰For because of the anger of the Lord, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.