Joshua23
New American Standard
1Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years,
2that 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.
3And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you.
4See, 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 west.
5And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and drive them from you; and you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.
6Be 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,
7so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain with you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.
8But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
9For the Lord has driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, no one has stood against you to this day.
10One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.
11So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God.
12For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,
13know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a 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 I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.
15But it will come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
16When 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.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 23.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Joshua's exhortation before his death. (1–10). Joshua warns the people of idolatry. (11–16).
vv1-10
Joshua was old and dying, let them observe what he said now. He put them in mind of the great things God had done for them in his days. He exhorted them to be very courageous. Keep with care, do with diligence, and regard with sincerity what is written. Also, very cautiously to endeavour that the heathen idolatry may be forgotten, so that it may never be revived. It is sad that among Christians the names of the heathen gods are so commonly used, and made so familiar as they are. Joshua exhorts them to be very constant. There might be many things amiss among them, but they had not forsaken the Lord their God; the way to make people better, is to make the best of them.
vv11-16
Would we cleave to the Lord, we must always stand upon our guard, for many a soul is lost through carelessness. Love the Lord your God, and you will not leave him. Has God been thus true to you? Be not you false to him. He is faithful that has promised, Heb 10:23. The experience of every Christian witnesses the same truth. Conflicts may have been severe and long, trials great and many; but at the last he will acknowledge that goodness and mercy followed him all the days of his life. Joshua states the fatal consequences of going back; know for a certainty it will be your ruin. The first step would be, friendship with idolaters; the next would be, marrying with them; the end of that would be, serving their gods. Thus the way of sin is down-hill, and those who have fellowship with sinners, cannot avoid having fellowship with sin. He describes the destruction he warns them of. The goodness of the heavenly Canaan, and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will add to the misery of those who shall for ever be shut out from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much, as to see how happy they might have been. Let us watch and pray against temptation. Let us trust in God's faithfulness, love, and power; let us plead his promises, and cleave to his commandments, then we shall be happy in life, in death, and for ever.
Key Words
רַב: abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality)
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)
נוּחַ: to rest, i.e. settle down; used in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, intransitive, transitive and causative (to dwell, stay, let fall, place, let alone, withdraw, give comfort, etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
סָבִיב: (as noun) a circle, neighbour, or environs; but chiefly (as adverb, with or without preposition) around
אֹיֵב: hating; an adversary
יְהוֹשׁוּעַ: Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader
זָקֵן: to be old
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
Cross References
Joshua 23Explicit prohibition of marriages with the remaining Canaanite nations, which Joshua warns against here.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
The covenant promise that one shall chase a thousand, which Joshua reiterates.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Warning that remaining nations and their gods will become snares and traps.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Warning that remaining Canaanites will be pricks in eyes and thorns in sides.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Joshua exhorts the leaders using the same command of courage he received from God.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prohibition against taking the names of false gods upon one's lips.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Commandment not to make mention of the name of other gods.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The Mosaic injunction to cleave unto the Lord, echoed by Joshua here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The fulfillment of Joshua's warning when God refuses to drive out the nations.
Supported by JFB
The covenant curses and evil things threatened if Israel disobeyed God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The fundamental command to love the Lord your God, requiring diligent self-watchfulness.
Supported by JFB
The Torah's strict prohibition of making covenants and marriages with Canaanites.
Supported by JFB
David uses the same expression ('going the way of all the earth') at his death.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Confirms that not one good thing promised by God had failed.
Supported by JFB