Joshua 23:6-13

6“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.

7Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them.

8But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

9“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you.

10One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised.

11So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

12“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,

13then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.