Now Joshua was old and well advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed.
Parallel translations
- KJV Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
- BSB Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed.
- NKJV Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed.
- NASB Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and a very large amount of the land remains to be possessed.
- NLT When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered.
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
Joshua had grown old, and the Lord reminded him that much land still remained to be possessed.
Overview
This verse opens the second half of the book, shifting from conquest to the division of the land. Despite the major victories, the task was not finished, a reminder that God's promises are received progressively through ongoing faith and obedience. The aged leader is called to a new phase of stewardship, distributing the inheritance even while work remains.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Josh 14:10“Now, behold, Yahweh has kept me alive, as he spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. Now, behold, I am eighty-five years old, today.
- 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.
- Josh 24:29After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old.
- Josh 23:1–2After many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,
- Luke 1:7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
- Gen 18:11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- 1 Kgs 1:1Now king David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he couldn’t keep warm.
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 13:1 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.