Joshua 23:12

10 One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.

11 Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.

For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,

13 know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.

14 Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and soul that not one of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,
KJV
Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
WEB
“But if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you;
ASV
Else if ye do at all go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you;
DARBY
For if ye in any wise go back, and cleave unto the residue of these nations, these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and come in unto them and they unto you:
BLB
For if you⁺ at all turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you⁺, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you⁺,
ÅB
For dersom dere vender dere bort fra ham og holder dere til disse folk, de av dem som enda er tilbake hos dere, og inngår svogerskap med dem og gir dere i lag med dem, og de med dere,
OTB
Men hvis dere noen gang vender dere bort og holder fast ved de overlevende fra disse nasjonene som blir igjen blant dere, og gifter dere med dem og omgås dem,
B1930
For dersom I vender eder bort fra ham og holder eder til disse folk, de av dem som ennu er tilbake hos eder, og inngår svogerskap med dem og gir eder i lag med dem, og de med eder,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Deuteronomy 7:3

    Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

    Read in context
  • Zephaniah 1:6

    and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”

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  • Ezekiel 18:24

    But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 1:4

    Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.

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  • Genesis 2:24

    For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

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  • 1 Samuel 18:1–3

    After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

    Read in context
  • 1 John 2:9

    If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.

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  • Ezra 9:1–2

    After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

    Read in context