The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you.
Parallel translations
- WEB “For Yahweh has driven great and strong nations out from before you. But as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
- KJV For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.
- NKJV For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day.
- NASB For the Lord has driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, no one has stood against you to this day.
- NLT “For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you.
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 reminds them that God drove out great nations and none could withstand Israel. It points again to God as the source of victory.
Overview
The defeat of powerful nations was not Israel's achievement but the Lord's doing. No enemy had been able to stand before His people because He fought for them. Recalling this past faithfulness fuels confidence and gratitude as the people look to the future.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 1:5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Deut 11:23then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.
- Exod 23:30Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.
- Josh 23:5The LORD your God will push them out of your way and drive them out before you, so that you can take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
- Josh 15:14And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
- Josh 21:43–44Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
- Josh 1:8–9This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.
- Deut 7:24He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them.
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 23:9 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.