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23 Long after this, when the Lord had given success to the people of Israel against their enemies and when Joshua was very old, he called for the leaders of Israel—the elders, judges, and officers—and said to them, “I am an old man now, and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. He has fought for you against your enemies and has given you their land. 4-5 And I have divided to you the land of the nations yet unconquered as well as the land of those you have already destroyed. All the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea shall be yours, for the Lord your God will drive out all the people living there now, and you will live there instead, just as he has promised you.

“But be very sure to follow all the instructions written in the book of the laws of Moses; do not deviate from them the least little bit. Be sure that you do not mix with the heathen people still remaining in the land; do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them. But follow the Lord your God just as you have until now. He has driven out great, strong nations from before you, and no one has been able to defeat you. 10 Each one of you has put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. 11 So be very careful to keep on loving him.

12 “If you don’t, and if you begin to intermarry with the nations around you, 13 then know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no longer chase those nations from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will disappear from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

14 “Soon I will be going the way of all the earth—I am going to die.

“You know very well that God’s promises to you have all come true. 15-16 But as certainly as the Lord has given you the good things he promised, just as certainly he will bring evil upon you if you disobey him. For if you worship other gods, he will completely wipe you out from this good land that the Lord has given you. His anger will rise hot against you, and you will quickly perish.”

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest(A) from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,(B) summoned all Israel—their elders,(C) leaders, judges and officials(D)—and said to them: “I am very old.(E) 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.(F) Remember how I have allotted(G) as an inheritance(H) for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea(I) in the west. The Lord your God himself will push them out(J) for your sake. He will drive them out(K) before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.(L)

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law(M) of Moses, without turning aside(N) to the right or to the left.(O) Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear(P) by them. You must not serve them or bow down(Q) to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord(R) your God, as you have until now.

“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations;(S) to this day no one has been able to withstand you.(T) 10 One of you routs a thousand,(U) because the Lord your God fights for you,(V) just as he promised. 11 So be very careful(W) to love the Lord(X) 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(Y) and associate with them,(Z) 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out(AA) these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares(AB) and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes,(AC) until you perish from this good land,(AD) which the Lord your God has given you.

14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.(AE) 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(AF) has been fulfilled; not one has failed.(AG) 15 But just as all the good things(AH) the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things(AI) he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you(AJ) from this good land he has given you.(AK) 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.(AL)

23 And 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.

And 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:

And 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.

Behold, 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.

And 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.

Be 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;

That 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:

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

For 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.

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

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

12 Else 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:

13 Know 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.

14 And, 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.

15 Therefore 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.

16 When 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.