1And it was done after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spake to Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, and said to him,

2Moses, my servant is dead; rise thou, and pass [over] this Jordan, thou, and all the people with thee, into the land which I shall give to the sons of Israel.

3I shall give to you each place which the step of your foot shall tread, as I spake to Moses,

4from the desert and Lebanon till to the great flood Euphrates; all the land of Hittites, unto the great sea against the going down of the sun, shall be your term.

5None shall be able to against-stand you in all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I shall be with thee; I shall not leave, neither I shall forsake thee.

6Be thou comforted, and be thou strong; for thou shalt part by lot to this people the land, for which I swore to thy fathers, that I should give it to them.

7Therefore be thou comforted, and be thou full strong, that thou keep and do all the law, which Moses, my servant, commanded to thee; bow thou not from it to the right side, either to the left side, that thou understand all things which thou doest.

8The book of this law depart not from thy mouth, but thou shalt think therein in days and nights, that thou keep and do all things that be written therein; then thou shalt dress thy way, and thou shalt understand it.

9Lo! I command to thee; be thou comforted, and be thou strong; do not thou dread, nor be thou afeared; for thy Lord God is with thee in all things, to which thou goest.

10And Joshua commanded to the princes of the people, and said,

11Pass ye through the midst of the castles [or tents], and command ye to the people, and say ye, Make ye ready meats to you; for after the third day ye shall pass [over] Jordan, and ye shall enter to wield the land, which your Lord God shall give to you.

12Also Joshua said to men of Reuben, and to men of Gad, and to the half lineage of Manasseh ⁰.

13Have ye mind of the word which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to you, and said, Your Lord God hath given to you rest, and all the land;

14your wives, and your sons, and your beasts shall dwell in the land that Moses gave to you beyond Jordan; but pass ye over armed, all strong in hand, before your brethren; and fight ye for them,

15till the Lord give rest to your brethren, as he gave also to you, and till also they wield the land which your Lord God shall give to them; and so turn ye again into the land of your possession, and ye shall dwell in that land which Moses, [the] servant of the Lord, gave to you over Jordan, against the rising of the sun.

16And they answered to Joshua, and said, We shall do all things which thou commandest to us, and we shall go, whither ever thou sendest us;

17as we obeyed in all things to Moses, so we shall obey also to thee; only thy Lord God be with thee, as he was with Moses.

18Die he that against-saith thy word, and obeyeth not to all thy biddings, which thou commandest to him; only be thou comforted, and do thou manly.