Joshua 23

1 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,2 summoned all Israel—their elders, leaders, judges and officials—and said to them: “I am very old.3 You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.4 Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

5 The Lord your God himself will push them out for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.
6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.

8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.
9 “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you.10 One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.

11 So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,

13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you.

16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord ’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

JOSHUA 23

Joshua's Farewell Speech

1 The [Lord] let Israel live in peace with its neighbors for a long time, and Joshua lived to a ripe old age.

2 One day he called a meeting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel, including the old men, the judges, and the officials. Then he told them:
I am now very old. 3 You have seen how the [Lord] your God fought for you and helped you defeat the nations who lived in this land.

4-5 There are still some nations left, but the [Lord] has promised you their land. So when you attack them, he will make them run away. I have already divided their land among your tribes, as I did with the land of the nations I defeated between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

6 Be sure that you carefully obey everything written in The Book of the Lawt of Moses and do exactly what it says.
7 Don't have anything to do with the nations that live around you. Don't worship their gods or pray to their idols or make promises in the names of their gods.

8 Be as faithful to the [Lord] as you have always been.
9 When you attacked powerful nations, the [Lord] made them run away, and no one has ever been able to stand up to you. 10 t Any one of you can defeat a thousand enemy soldiers, because the [Lord] God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 Be sure to always love the [Lord] your God.

12-13 Don't ever turn your backs on him by marrying people from the nations that are left in the land. Don't even make friends with them. I tell you that if you are friendly with those nations, the [Lord] won't chase them away when you attack. Instead, they'll be like a trap for your feet, a whip on your back, and thorns in your eyes. And finally, none of you will be left in this good land that the [Lord] has given you.
14 I will soon die, as everyone must. But deep in your hearts you know that the [Lord] has kept every promise he ever made to you. Not one of them has been broken. 15-16 Yes, when the [Lord] makes a promise, he does what he has promised. But when he makes a threat, he will also do what he has threatened. The [Lord] is our God. He gave us this wonderful land and made an agreement with us that we would worship only him. But if you worship other gods, it will make the [Lord] furious. He will start getting rid of you, and soon not one of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.