Joshua 23:6-16

23:6 Be very strong! Carefully obey ¹  all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, 23:7 or associate with these nations that remain near ²  you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! ³  You must not worship ⁴  or bow down to them! 23:8 But you must be loyal to ⁵  the Lord your God, as you have been ⁶  to this very day.

23:9 “The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you ⁷  to this very day. 23:10 One of you makes a thousand run away, ⁸  for the Lord your God fights for you ⁹  as he promised you he would. ¹⁰  23:11 Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God! ¹¹  23:12 But if you ever turn away and make alliances with ¹²  these nations that remain near you, ¹³  and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them, ¹⁴  23:13 know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you; ¹⁵  they will be a whip that tears ¹⁶  your sides and thorns that blind ¹⁷  your eyes until you disappear ¹⁸  from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

23:14 “Look, today I am about to die. ¹⁹  You know with all your heart and being ²⁰  that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized – not one promise is unfulfilled! ²¹  23:15 But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, ²²  it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment ²³  until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. 23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, ²⁴  and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, ²⁵  the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear ²⁶  quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

¹ tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”

² tn Heb “with.”

³ tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.

⁴ tn Or “serve.”

⁵ tn Heb “hug.”

⁶ tn Heb “done.”

⁷ tn Heb “not a man has stood before you.”

⁸ tn Or “chases a thousand.”

⁹ tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “as he said to you.”

¹¹ tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.”

¹² tn Heb “and hug.”

¹³ tn Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and go into them, and they into you.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “in.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.”

¹⁸ tn Or “perish.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”

²⁰ tn Or “soul.”

²¹ tn Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.”

²² tn Heb “and it will be as every good word which the Lord your God spoke to you has come to pass.”

²³ tn Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.”

²⁴ tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”

²⁵ tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

²⁶ tn Or “perish.”