JOSHUA.

Chapter 1.

¹ And it came to pass after the death of Moses, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the Son of Naue, the minister of Moses, saying, ² Moses my servant is dead; now then arise, go over Jordan, thou and all this people into the land which I give them. ³ Every spot on which ye shall tread I will give it you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ The wilderness and Antilibanus, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, and as far as the ¹extremity of the sea; your coasts shall be from the setting of the sun. ⁵ Not a man shall stand against you all the days of thy life; and as I was with Moses, so will I also be with thee, and ²I will not fail thee, or neglect thee. ⁶ Be strong and quit thyself like a man, for thou shalt divide the land to this people, which I sware to give to ³your fathers. ⁷ Be strong, therefore, and quit thyself like a man, to observe and do as Moses my servant commanded thee; and thou shall not turn ⁴therefrom to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest be wise in whatsoever thou mayest do.⁸ And the book of this law shall not depart out of thy mouth, and thou shalt meditate in it day and night, that thou mayest know how to do all the things that are written in it; then shalt thou prosper, and make thy ways prosperous, and then shalt thou be wise. ⁹ Lo! I have commanded thee; be strong and courageous, be not cowardly nor fearful, for the Lord thy God is with thee in all places whither thou goest. ¹⁰ And Joshua commanded the scribes of the people, saying, ¹¹ Go into the midst of the camp of the people, and command the people saying, Prepare provisions; for yet three days and ye ⁵shall go over this Jordan, entering in to take possession of the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives to you.

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¹² And to Ruben, and to Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasse, Joshua said, ¹³ Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God has caused you to rest, and has given you this land. ¹⁴ Let your wives and your children and your cattle dwell in the land, which he has given you; and ye shall go over ⁶well armed before your brethren, every one of you who is strong; and ye shall fight on their side; ¹⁵ until the Lord our God shall have given your brethren rest, as also to you, and they also shall have inherited the land, which the Lord your God gives them; then ye shall depart each one to his inheritance, which Moses gave you beyond Jordan eastward. ¹⁶ And they answered Joshua and said, We will do all things which thou commandest us, and we will go to every place whither thou shalt send us. ¹⁷ Whereinsoever we hearkened to Moses we will hearken to thee; only let the Lord our God be with thee, as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ And whosoever shall disobey thee, and whosoever shall not hearken to thy words as thou shalt command him, let him die; but be thou strong and courageous.