Joshua 1:1

The Lord Commissions Joshua

1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant:

Joshua 1:6-9

1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. 1  1:7 Make sure you are 2  very strong and brave! Carefully obey 3  all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! 4  Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful 5  in all you do. 6  1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips! 7  You must memorize it 8  day and night so you can carefully obey 9  all that is written in it. Then you will prosper 10  and be successful. 11  1:9 I repeat, 12  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, 13  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” 14 

1 tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.

2 tn Or “Only be.”

3 tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”

4 tn Heb “commanded you.”

5 tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

6 tn Heb “in all which you go.”

7 tn Heb “mouth.”

sn This law scroll must not leave your lips. The ancient practice of reading aloud to oneself as an aid to memorization is in view here.

8 tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

9 tn Heb “be careful to do.”

10 tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

11 tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

12 tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

13 tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

14 tn Heb “in all which you go.”