Joshua 1

After Moses the servant of God died, God spoke to Joshua son of Nun. He had been Moses’ helper. God said,

“{You know that} my servant Moses has died. So now get ready to cross over the Jordan River, you and all these people. Enter the land that I will soon give to all of you Israelites.

I will certainly give you every place where you walk in that land, just as I promised Moses. \*

That land will extend from the wilderness {in the south} to the Lebanon mountains {in the northwest}, to the Euphrates River {in the northeast}, and to the Great Sea {in the west} where the sun goes down. It will include all the land where the Hittites live.

No people group will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will help you as I helped Moses. I promise that I will not abandon you and I will never leave you. \*

Be strong and brave, because you are the one who will lead these people so that they can possess this land that I promised to give to their ancestors.

Just be strong and very brave so that you can be sure to obey all the laws that my servant Moses gave to you. {Obey those laws} so that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not stop obeying any of them. \*

Make sure to read continually the laws that God gave Moses. Constantly think about those laws so that you will carefully obey each one. If you do that, then you will be successful in the things you do.

Do not forget that I have commanded you to be strong and brave. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged, because I, God your God, will be with you wherever you go.” \*

So Joshua commanded the leaders of the people of Israel,

“Go throughout the camp and give these orders to the people: ‘Prepare all the food that you will take with you, because the day after tomorrow we will cross the Jordan River. We are going across in order to conquer the land that God, our God, has promised to give us.’” \*

Then Joshua spoke to the people of the tribes that were the descendants of Reuben and Gad. He also spoke to the people of half of the tribe of Manasseh. {All those people were going to settle on the east side of the Jordan River.} Joshua said,

“Keep in mind the orders that Moses the servant of God gave you. Moses said, ‘God your God will give you this land so that you can live here peacefully.’ \*

Your wives, your little children, and your cows, sheep, and goats may stay here in this land that Moses gave you on the east side of the Jordan River. But all the men of fighting age{, twenty years old or older,} must cross the Jordan River. They must go ahead of the people of the other tribes. Your soldiers must take all their weapons so that they can help their fellow Israelites.

You must help your fellow Israelites to fight against the inhabitants of the land until God has enabled them to defeat the inhabitants and settle in the land permanently and live peacefully there. That is what God has done for you in the land he has given you. God our God will do the same thing for them. After you help them, then your soldiers may return to live in this land that God’s servant Moses gave to you here on the east side of the Jordan River.” \*

The people answered Joshua, “We will do everything you have told us to do, and we will go wherever you tell us to go.

As we obeyed all that Moses told us to do, so we will obey all that you tell us to do. We pray that God your God will help you just as he helped Moses.

We will execute anyone who refuses to obey what you say and does not do everything that you command. But {we want you, Joshua}, to be strong and brave!” \*