Joshua 23 : 1 (NLT)
The years passed, and the LORD had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies. Joshua, who was now very old,
Joshua 23 : 2 (NLT)
called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. He said to them, "I am now a very old man.
Joshua 23 : 3 (NLT)
You have seen everything the LORD your God has done for you during my lifetime. The LORD your God has fought for you against your enemies.
Joshua 23 : 4 (NLT)
I have allotted to you as your homeland all the land of the nations yet unconquered, as well as the land of those we have already conquered-- from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
Joshua 23 : 5 (NLT)
This land will be yours, for the LORD your God will himself drive out all the people living there now. You will take possession of their land, just as the LORD your God promised you.
Joshua 23 : 6 (NLT)
"So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.
Joshua 23 : 7 (NLT)
Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them.
Joshua 23 : 8 (NLT)
Rather, cling tightly to the LORD your God as you have done until now.
Joshua 23 : 9 (NLT)
"For the LORD has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you.
Joshua 23 : 10 (NLT)
Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the LORD your God fights for you, just as he has promised.
Joshua 23 : 11 (NLT)
So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
Joshua 23 : 12 (NLT)
"But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,
Joshua 23 : 13 (NLT)
then know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the LORD your God has given you.
Joshua 23 : 14 (NLT)
"Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!
Joshua 23 : 15 (NLT)
But as surely as the LORD your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you.
Joshua 23 : 16 (NLT)
If you break the covenant of the LORD your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you."
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