Joshua 23:12

Joshua 23:12 in other versions

• King James Version (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:
• New International Version (NIV)“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Or else, if indeed you do go 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,

Context of Joshua 23:12

10One of you routed a thousand because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he promised. 11So diligently watch yourselves! Love the Lord your God! If you ever turn away and become loyal to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you, 13know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a sharp stick for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God has given you. 14“I am now going the way of the whole earth, and you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises the Lord your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.

Joshua 23:12 word by word

כִּ֣י׀ אִם־שׁ֣וֹב תָּשׁ֗וּבוּ וּדְבַקְתֶּם֙ בְּיֶ֙תֶר֙ הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אִתְּכֶ֑ם וְהִֽתְחַתַּנְתֶּ֥ם בָּהֶ֛ם וּבָאתֶ֥ם בָּהֶ֖ם וְהֵ֥ם בָּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Else if ye do in any wiseשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• and cleaveדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
• unto the remnantיֶ֫תֶרyether · remainderH3499
• of these nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• these that remainשָׁאַרshâ'ar · to remainH7604
• among you, and shall make marriagesחָתַןchâthan · make oneself a daughter’s husbandH2859
• with them, and go inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): marryH935

Cross-references for Joshua 23:12

• Psalms 36:3The words from his mouth are malicious and deceptive; he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.
• Psalms 125:5But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord will banish them with the evildoers. Peace be with Israel.
• Isaiah 1:4Oh sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, brood of evildoers, depraved children! They have abandoned the Lord; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they have turned their backs on him.
• Ezekiel 18:24But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
• Zephaniah 1:6and those who turn back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.
• Matthew 12:45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”
• John 6:66From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him.
• Hebrews 10:38But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him.
• 2 Peter 2:18For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error.
• 1 John 2:9The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now.
• Genesis 2:24This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
• Genesis 34:3He became infatuated with Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He loved the young girl and spoke tenderly to her.
• 1 Samuel 18:1When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan was bound to David in close friendship, and loved him as much as he loved himself.
• 1 Kings 11:2from the nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love.
• Romans 12:9Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.
• Exodus 34:12Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you.

Commentaries on Joshua 23:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Else if ye do - go back - The soldier who draws back when going to meet the enemy, forfeits his life. These were the Lord's soldiers, and if they drew back they drew back unto perdition, their lives being forfeited by their infidelity.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-16Verses 11-16 Would we cleave to the Lord, we must always stand upon our guard, for many a soul is lost through carelessness. Love the Lord your God, and you will not leave him. Has God been thus true to you? Be not you false to him. He is faithful that has promised, He 10:23. The experience of every Christian witnesses the same truth. Conflicts may have been severe and long, trials great and many; but at the last he will acknowledge that goodness and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12Joshua warned God's people not to marry their neighbors who worshiped many gods. Such close relationships could lead the Israelites to be unfaithful to God (Deuteronomy 7:3–4). However, people from Canaan who wanted to worship the Lord and join God's people were welcome (Joshua 6:25; Ruth 4:10). Race, language, and ethnic group did not affect God's rule against marrying non-Israelites. It was a matter of remaining loyal to the Lord (see 2 Corinthians…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212-13. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations--As marriage connections with the idolatrous Canaanites would present many and strong temptations to transgress it, these were strictly prohibited (Ex 34:12-16; De 7:3). With his eye, as it were, upon those prohibitions, Joshua threatens them with the certain withdrawal of the divine aid in the further expulsion of the Canaanites (a threat founded Ex 23:33; Nu 33:55; De…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 23:12

• Company
• Fear of God
• Fellowship
• Miscegenation

In the dictionaries

• Certainty
• Cleave
• Mention
• Therefrom
• Joshua, Book of

Commentaries on Joshua 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings