| 23:1 | A long time* passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies,* and Joshua was very old.* |
| 23:2 | So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. |
| 23:3 | You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you.* |
| 23:4 | See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations,* from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea* in the west, including all the nations I defeated.* |
| 23:5 | The Lord your God will drive them out from before you and remove them,* so you can occupy* their land as the Lord your God promised* you. |
| 23:6 | Be very strong! Carefully obey* 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* you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods!* You must not worship* or bow down to them! |
| 23:8 | But you must be loyal to* the Lord your God, as you have been* 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* to this very day. |
| 23:10 | One of you makes a thousand run away,* for the Lord your God fights for you* as he promised you he would.* |
| 23:11 | Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God!* |
| 23:12 | But if you ever turn away and make alliances with* these nations that remain near you,* and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them,* |
| 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;* they will be a whip that tears* your sides and thorns that blind* your eyes until you disappear* from this good land the Lord your God gave you. |
| 23:14 | “Look, today I am about to die.* You know with all your heart and being* 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!* |
| 23:15 | But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized,* it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment* 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,* and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods,* the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear* quickly from the good land which he gave to you.” |
Joshua 23 - NET Bible [draft]
