“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; know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.
Parallel Translations
-
“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;
know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.
-
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:
Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.
Show all 3 translations
-
Else if ye do in any wise 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;
know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap unto you, and a scourge in your sides, and pricks in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.
Cross-references (40)
- Deuteronomy 7:16 (v13) You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them. You shall not serve their gods;…
- Numbers 33:55 (v13) “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those you let remain of them will be like pricks in your…
- Deuteronomy 7:3 (v12) You shall not make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son.
- Exodus 23:33 (v13) They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
- Judges 2:2-3 (v13) You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to my voice.…
Show all 39 cross-references
- Deuteronomy 28:63-68 (v13) It will happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish…
- 2 Kings 17:22-23 (v13) The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they didn’t depart from them until Yahweh removed Israel out of his…
- Psalms 69:22 (v13) Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap.
- Psalms 106:35-39 (v13) but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. Yes, they sacrificed…
- Ezekiel 18:24 (v12) “But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked…
- Zephaniah 1:6 (v12) those who have turned back from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor inquired after him.
- Luke 21:24 (v13) They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles,…
- 1 Kings 11:4 (vv12–13) When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of…
- Genesis 2:24 (v12) Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- Genesis 34:3 (v12) His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
- Exodus 34:12-16 (v12) Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you; but you shall…
- Leviticus 26:31-35 (v13) I will lay your cities waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation. I will not take delight in the sweet fragrance of your…
- Deuteronomy 4:26 (v13) I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to…
- Deuteronomy 29:28 (v13) Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and thrust them into another land, as it is today.”
- Deuteronomy 30:18 (v13) I declare to you today that you will surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you pass over the Jordan to go in to…
- 1 Samuel 18:1-3 (v12) When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul…
- 1 Kings 11:2 (v12) of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for…
- 2 Kings 25:26 (v13) All the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
- Ezra 9:1-2 (v12) Now when these things were done, the princes came near to me, saying, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not…
- Ezra 9:11-12 (v12) which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land, to which you go to possess it, is an unclean land through the…
- Nehemiah 13:23-26 (v12) In those days I also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; and their children spoke half in the speech of…
- Psalms 36:3 (v12) The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- Psalms 106:34-35 (v12) They didn’t destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them, but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.
- Psalms 125:5 (v12) But as for those who turn away to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be on Israel.
- Isaiah 1:4 (v12) Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have…
- Matthew 12:45 (v12) Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that…
- John 6:66 (v12) At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
- Romans 12:9 (v12) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (v12) Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with…
- 2 Timothy 2:26 (v13) and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.
- Hebrews 10:38-39 (v12) But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back to…
- 2 Peter 2:18-22 (v12) For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping…
- 1 John 2:9 (v12) He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now.
- 2 Kings 25:21 (v13) The king of Babylon attacked them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
39 distinct cross-references across this passage (40 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v12 12. Else if you do in any wise go…
12. Else if you do in any wise go back, etc According to the usual method observed in the Law, he adds threatening, in order that if they are not sufficiently allured by the divine goodness, they may be aroused by fear to the performance of their duty. It is, indeed, disgraceful for men, when God graciously condescends to invite them, not at once to run forward and meet the invitation by prompt and alert obedience; but such is the lethargy of the flesh, that it always requires to be stimulated by threats. Joshua, therefore, adopts the usual method of the Law, while he reminds the Israelites of the terrors of the Lord, provided they do not of their own accord embrace his offered favor. Moreover, it is not once only that, he sets before them the denunciation that the nations of Canaan will be scourges to their sides and thorns in their eyes if they become familiar with them. First, inasmuch as God had consecrated the land to himself, he wished it to be purged of all impurities; and secondly, inasmuch as he saw how prone the people were to be corrupted by bad example, he wished also to provide a remedy for this evil. Then, while on the one hand the people counted it as nothing that the land should be contaminated by impious superstitions, and that idols should be worshipped in it instead of the true God, and on the other hand, eagerly contracted contagion from their vices, it was only a just punishment of this gross contempt that they should experience molestation and hostility from those whom they had improperly spared.
That the threatening which both Moses and Joshua thus denounced were openly accomplished, is but too plain from the Book of Judges. And yet this promulgation of the divine vengeance was not altogether useless; for after Joshua was dead, they became courageous enough to engage in war. Their ardor, however, proved evanescent, and they shortly after were initiated in nefarious Gentile rites. Hence, we perceive in the human mind an intemperate longing for perverse worship, a longing which no curbs are able to restrain.
Read full note →
It is now proper to consider how far this doctrine is applicable to us. It is true a special command was given to the ancient people to destroy the nations of Canaan, and keep aloof from all profane defilement’s. To us, in the present day, no certain region marks out our precise boundaries; nor are we armed with the sword to slay all the ungodly; we have only to beware of allowing ourselves to become involved in fellowship with wickedness, by not keeping at a sufficient distance from it. For it is almost impossible, if we mingle with it, spontaneously to avoid receiving some spot or blemish. But this point having been elsewhere expounded, I now merely advert to it in passing.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv12–13 Or, be of their affinity.
Or, be of their affinity.
Or, have conversation with them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–13 Jos 23:12 Else if ye do in any wise…
Jos 23:12 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:
Ver. 12. Else, if ye do in any wise go back.] Apostates cannot choose to themselves a worse condition; there is martial law for such: they "draw back to perdition." {Heb 10:39}
Read full note →
And cleave unto the remnant.] It is not safe to seek the association of others in a sinful way. Jehoshaphat smarted for joining with Ahab: Hunniades, for cleaving to that perjured Popish king at the battle of Varna: the Greek Church, for calling in the help of the Latin Church against the Turk; subjecting themselves to the Bishop of Rome.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv12–13 If ye go back, from God, and from his…
If ye go back, from God, and from his worship and service.
Go in unto them; the phrase notes the matrimonial act.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–13 Else if ye do in any wise go back,....…
Else if ye do in any wise go back,.... From the Lord and his worship, from his word and ordinances:
and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even those that remain among you; in cities not taken, or in several which the Philistines were in possession of, or lived among them as tributaries to them, if they should take to them, and be free and familiar with them, which may lead on to nearer connections in civil and religious matters:
Read full note →
and shall make marriages with them; marry their daughters to the sons of Canaanites, or admit the daughters of Canaanites to be married to their sons:
and go in unto them, and they to you; which is expressive of the consummation of marriage, and of the performance of the conjugal duty,
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12–13 Go back - From God, and from his worship…
Go back - From God, and from his worship and service.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12–13 Verse 12. Else if ye do - go back]…
Verse 12. Else 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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v12 Jos 23:12-13. If ye in any wise go back…
Jos 23:12-13. If ye in any wise go back — From God, and from his worship and service. They shall be snares and traps to you — By your converse with them, you will be drawn by degrees into their errors, and impieties, and brutish lusts. Thorns in your eyes — When they have seduced, and thereby weakened you, then they will molest and vex you, no less than a severe scourge doth a man’s sides which are lashed by it, or than a small thorn doth the eye when it is got within it. Till ye perish — They shall so persecute you, and fight against you with such success, that you shall be forced to quit your own land, and wander, you know not whither. Which must needs have been very terrible to them to think of, when they compared their present ease, and plenty, and safety, with the pains, and weariness, and hazards, and wants of their former wanderings.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v13 Side. Hebrew, "snares and traps unto you, and scourges…
Side. Hebrew, "snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your side." Children and slaves were formerly beaten on this part, Ecclesiasticus xxx. 12., and xlii. 5. Horace (epod. iv.) says, Ibericis peruste funibus latus. The first word St. Jerome seems to have read with th at the end, as peth, means a hole, (Calmet) by which means it was customary to take wild beasts, and to annoy the enemy. (Haydock) --- Septuagint render side, "they shall be nails in your heels."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v12 BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)
BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)
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 (Exo 34:12-16; Deu 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 Exo 23:33; Num 33:55; Deu 7:16).
Read full note →
Next: Joshua Chapter 24
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv12–13 12. Make marriages — This most intimate form of…
12. Make marriages — This most intimate form of alliance was forbidden in Exo_34:12-16, as a precaution against temptation. Thus Christians are forbidden to wed infidels or pagans. 2Co_6:14. The affections largely determine religious opinions and practice. The heart makes theology.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–13 12. if ye do] “If ye do in any…
12. if ye do] “If ye do in any wise turn back, and cleave to the remnant of these nations, these that remain with you, and make marriages with them, and ye come among them, and they among you, know for a certainty that the protection of the Almighty will fail you, and His arm will no more give you success against them.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v12 (12,13) if ye . . . make marriages with…
(12,13) if ye . . . make marriages with them . . . the Lord your God will no more drive out.—The common-sense of this warning is manifest. The God of Israel cannot treat as His enemies those whom Israel has united with itself, unless He also makes war on Israel. It was a long time before Israel learned the lesson how to live in the world without being of the world. It was not learnt until after the Babylonish captivity, and when learnt, it soon developed into a Pharisaical exclusiveness, which produced the very opposite effect to that which the law was intended to have.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12–13 Go back. Literally, return. Cleave. A word (see ver.…
Go back. Literally, return. Cleave. A word (see ver. 8) signifying close and intimate relationship. And the intimacy of the relationship is indicated, as in ver. 8, by the use of the preposition B. Make marriages with them. No closer or more intimate relationship is possible than this. Nothing, therefore, would be more certain to draw the Israelites away from their allegiance to God, and to seduce them and their children into the false and corrupt worship of the nations around them. "Unde deprecor vos qui fidelis estis, ut ita vitam vestram et conversationem servetis, ne in aliquo vel ipsi scandalum patiamini vel aliis scandalum faciatis; sit in vobis summi studii, summaeque cautelae, ne quis in hanc sanctam congregationem vestram pollutus introeat" (Orig., Hom. 21 on Joshua). Go in unto them. Rather, go among them. Spoken of the familiar intercourse of friendship. It is equivalent to our words "associate with them."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 cling to the survivors of these nations
cling to the survivors of these nations
Accepting the beliefs of these nations is spoken of as holding tightly to them. AT: "accept the beliefs of the survivors of these nations" (See: Metaphor)
Read full note →
a snare and a trap
The words "snare" and "trap" mean basically the same thing. Together they speak of the other nations as if they were a deadly trap that will cause trouble for Israel. (See: Doublet and Metaphor)
whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes
These phrases speak of the troubles these nations will cause Israel as if they were as painful as whips and thorns. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
perish
good
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12–13 23:12-16 Apostasy—turning away from the true God—is fatal. •…
23:12-16 Apostasy—turning away from the true God—is fatal. • Because God is holy, Joshua could speak with optimism regarding God’s promises and the good land into which God had brought them. God will not change his holy character even if his people change. The rebellion of God’s people cannot damage his holiness, but rebellion will destroy those who rebel.
23:12 Joshua warned God’s people not to intermarry with their polytheistic neighbors because such an intimate relationship would lead the Israelites astray (Deut 7:3-4). However, Canaanites who desired to worship the Lord and join God’s people were welcomed (Josh 6:25; Ruth 4:10). Race, language, and ethnicity had no bearing on God’s prohibition of intermarriage; it was a matter of faithfulness to the Lord (cp. 2 Cor 6:14-15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.