Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not fear them; for Yahweh your God himself fights for you.”
- BSB Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
- NKJV You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’
- NASB Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the One fighting for you.’
- NLT Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses told Joshua not to fear, for the LORD Himself fights for Israel. It locates Israel's courage in God's active help.
Overview
The charge climaxes in the assurance that God Himself is the warrior on Israel's behalf. This truth answers fear not by minimizing the enemy but by exalting the LORD. It echoes through Scripture and finds its fullest expression in the God who secures His people's victory in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 14:14The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
- Deut 20:4For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
- Deut 1:30The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
- 2 Chr 20:17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
- 2 Chr 20:29And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
- Josh 10:42And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.
- Isa 43:1–2But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
- Ps 44:3For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
- 2 Chr 13:12And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
- Num 21:34And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 3:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.