Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
Parallel translations
- WEB but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day.
- KJV But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.
- NKJV but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
- NASB But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
- NLT Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.
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
Instead they are to hold fast to Yahweh as they have done. It calls them to continued, loyal devotion to God.
Overview
In contrast to entanglement with the nations, Joshua commands Israel to cling tightly to the Lord. The phrase recalls the covenant language of clinging to God in love and loyalty. This steadfast attachment to Yahweh is the safeguard against being drawn away into idolatry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Deut 10:20You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
- Josh 22:5But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD 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.”
- Acts 11:23When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.
- Deut 13:4You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.
- Deut 11:22For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—
- Deut 4:4But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 23:8 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.