The Histories · Old Testament

Joshua 23

Joshua's warning to keep the covenant

General context

After a long period of rest, the aged Joshua calls Israel and its leaders together. He credits the Lord with fighting for them and points to the allotment of both conquered territory and nations still remaining. He says the Lord will continue to drive those nations out. Israel must keep Moses' written law without turning aside, avoid the remaining nations' gods and hold fast to the Lord. Joshua warns against joining those peoples through intermarriage and close association: if Israel turns back in that way, the Lord will cease expelling them, and they will become snares, traps and sources of pain until Israel perishes from the land. Saying he is going the way of all the earth, Joshua reminds the people that none of the promised good has failed. He then gives the warning equal force: if they break the covenant and serve other gods, the Lord's anger will bring destruction from the land they have received.

Cited passages: Joshua 23:1, Joshua 23:2, Joshua 23:3, Joshua 23:4, Joshua 23:5, Joshua 23:6, Joshua 23:7, Joshua 23:8, Joshua 23:9, Joshua 23:10, Joshua 23:11, Joshua 23:12, Joshua 23:13, Joshua 23:14, Joshua 23:15, Joshua 23:16

Joshua 23 (KJV)

¹And 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.

²And 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:

³And 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.

⁴Behold, 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.

⁵And 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.

⁶Be 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;

⁷That 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:

⁸But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.

⁹For 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.

¹⁰One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

¹¹Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.

¹²Else 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:

¹³Know 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.

¹⁴And, 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.

¹⁵Therefore 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.

¹⁶When 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.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The speech's setting is defined by Joshua's old age and the time since rest was given; no location or exact date is supplied here. Remaining nations are expressly included in the allotment in verse 4, so the address does not assume every inhabitant has already been expelled. Its warnings concern Israel's covenant obligations in the assigned land, including worship, oaths and marriages with those remaining peoples. Joshua's approaching death is conveyed by going the way of all the earth; the chapter contains no death or burial scene. The good-land language continues into the warning, making continued possession conditional rather than treating the grant as permission to disregard the covenant.

Cited passages: Joshua 23:1, Joshua 23:2, Joshua 23:3, Joshua 23:4, Joshua 23:5, Joshua 23:6, Joshua 23:7, Joshua 23:11, Joshua 23:12, Joshua 23:13, Joshua 23:14, Joshua 23:15, Joshua 23:16

Literary context

The speech moves from remembered divine action to present obligations and future consequences. Hold fast to the Lord in verse 8 is set against joining the remaining nations in verse 12. Snares, traps, scourges and thorns give the warning a sequence of painful images. The closing argument uses fulfilled good promises as the ground for taking threatened judgment seriously, rather than allowing past success to end the discussion.

Cited passages: Joshua 23:3, Joshua 23:4, Joshua 23:5, Joshua 23:6, Joshua 23:7, Joshua 23:8, Joshua 23:9, Joshua 23:10, Joshua 23:11, Joshua 23:12, Joshua 23:13, Joshua 23:14, Joshua 23:15, Joshua 23:16

Key moments

Joshua addresses Israel in old age (Joshua 23:2). He gathers the people and their leaders and says that he is old.
Remaining nations are acknowledged (Joshua 23:4). Joshua includes nations still present within his description of the allotment.
Love requires attention (Joshua 23:11). He tells the people to take careful heed to love the Lord their God.
The covenant warning closes the speech (Joshua 23:16). Serving other gods is linked to the Lord's anger and loss of the good land.

For reflection

Joshua uses remembered good as a reason to take continuing obligations seriously. When a commitment has brought stability, how do you keep that stability from becoming a reason to neglect it?