Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’
Parallel translations
- WEB But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”
- KJV But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.
- BSB But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”
- NKJV But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’
- NASB But commission Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across leading this people, and he will give to them, as an inheritance, the land which you will see.’
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 was told to commission, encourage, and strengthen Joshua, who would lead Israel in. It directs his attention from his own loss to the future of God's people.
Overview
God redirects Moses to invest in his successor, ensuring the mission continues beyond him. The charge to encourage and strengthen Joshua models faithful leadership that prizes God's purposes above personal ambition. It shows that God's work advances through generations as one servant prepares the next.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Deut 31:3Yahweh your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
- Deut 31:23He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.”
- Deut 1:38Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
- Deut 31:7Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
- Acts 7:45which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, to the days of David,
- Num 27:18–23Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
- 1 Chr 28:9–10You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- Heb 4:8For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.
- Josh 3:7–17Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
- Josh 1:2“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you, and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel.
- 2 Tim 4:1–6I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
- 1 Chr 28:20David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished.
- 1 Chr 22:11–16Now, my son, may Yahweh be with you and prosper you, and build the house of Yahweh your God, as he has spoken concerning you.
- 2 Tim 2:1–3You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Tim 6:13–14I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,
- 1 Chr 22:6Then he called for Solomon his son, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
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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 3:28 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.