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We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. And may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.
Joshua 1:17 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may Yahweh your God be with you, as he was with Moses.
  • KJV According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
  • BSB Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses.
  • NKJV Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.
  • NASB Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses.

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

The tribes promise to obey Joshua as they obeyed Moses, while praying that God would be with him as He was with Moses. Their loyalty is matched by a desire for God's blessing on their leader.

Overview

Their pledge ties Joshua's authority to Moses' established office, affirming continuity in God's leadership of the nation. Their prayer that God would be with Joshua echoes God's own promise in verse 5, showing the people aligning their hopes with God's word. Faithful followers both obey their leaders and pray for God's presence to rest upon them.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Josh 1:5No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
  • 1 Kgs 1:37As Yahweh has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.”
  • Josh 1:9Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
  • Matt 21:9The multitudes who went in front of him, and those who followed, kept shouting, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
  • Ps 20:9Save, Yahweh! Let the King answer us when we call!
  • Ps 20:4May He grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your counsel.
  • 1 Sam 20:13Yahweh do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do you evil, if I don’t disclose it to you, and send you away, that you may go in peace. May Yahweh be with you, as he has been with my father.
  • 1 Tim 2:1–2I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men:
  • Ps 118:25–26Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now.
  • Ps 20:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
  • 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.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 1:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.

How Joshua 1:17 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.