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 are² very strong and brave! Carefully obey³ 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 successful⁵ in all you do.⁶ 1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips!⁷ You must memorize it⁸ day and night so you can carefully obey⁹ all that is written in it. Then you will prosper¹⁰ 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

¹tn 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.

²tn Or “Only be.”

³tn 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!”

⁴tn Heb “commanded you.”

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

⁶tn Heb “in all which you go.”

⁷tn 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.

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

⁹tn Heb “be careful to do.”

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

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

¹²tn 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.

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

¹⁴tn Heb “in all which you go.”