Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God.
- KJV Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.
- BSB Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.
- NASB So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God.
- NLT So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
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 urges them to be very careful to love Yahweh their God. It places love for God at the center of faithfulness.
Overview
At the heart of all obedience stands love for the Lord, and Joshua warns them to guard it diligently. He knows that when love grows cold, idolatry and ruin follow. This emphasis on loving God anticipates Jesus' identifying love for God as the greatest commandment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Josh 22:5Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
- Deut 6:5–12You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
- Jude 1:20–21But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
- Rom 8:28We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
- 1 Cor 8:3But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
- 1 Cor 16:22If any man doesn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come, Lord!
- Exod 20:6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
- Prov 4:23Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.
- Heb 12:15looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it;
- Deut 4:9Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children;
- Eph 5:15Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
- Luke 21:34“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 23:11 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.