Joshua 23 · Verse 11

Joshua 23:11

Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.
Joshua 23:11, King James Version

Joshua 23:11 in other translations

BSBTherefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.
WEBTake good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God.
ASVTake good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love Jehovah your God.
YLTand ye have been very watchful for yourselves to love Jehovah your God.
DARBYTake great heed therefore unto your souls, that ye love Jehovah your God.
BBESo keep watch on yourselves, and see that you have love for the Lord your God.
WebsterTake good heed therefore to yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.

What does Joshua 23:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 23:5-11

Jos 23:5-11. By Promises. 5-11. the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, as the Lord your God hath promised you, &c.--The actual possessions which God had given were a pledge of the complete fulfilment of His promise in giving them the parts of the country still unconquered. But the accomplishment of the divine promise depended on their inviolable fidelity to God's law--on their keeping resolutely…

Read the full comment on Joshua 23:5-11 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 Take good heed - unto yourselves that ye love the Lord - לנפשתיכם lenaphshotheychem, Take heed To Your Souls, literally; but נפש nephesh and nefs, both in Hebrew and Arabic, signify the whole self, as well as soul and life; both soul and body must be joined in this work, for it is written, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 23:11-16
Would we cleave to the Lord, we must always stand upon our guard, for many a soul is lost through carelessness. Love the Lord your God, and you will not leave him. Has God been thus true to you? Be not you false to him. He is faithful that has promised, He 10:23. The experience of every Christian witnesses the same truth. Conflicts may have been severe and long, trials great and many; but at the last he will acknowledge that goodness and mercy followed him all the days of his life. Joshua states the fatal consequences of going back; know for a certainty it will be your ruin. The first step would be, friendship with idolaters; the next would be, marrying with them; the end of that would be, serving their gods. Thus the way of sin is down-hill, and those who have fellowship with sinners, cannot avoid having fellowship with sin. He describes the destruction he warns them of. The goodness of the heavenly Canaan, and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will add to the misery of those who shall for ever be shut out from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much, as to see how happy they might have been. Let us watch and pray against temptation. Let us trust in God's faithfulness, love, and power; let us plead his promises, and cleave to his commandments, then we shall be happy in life, in death, and for ever.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Joshua 23:11 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥םve.nish.mar.Temand you will take heedH8104
מְאֹ֖דme.'OdexceedinglyH3966
לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶ֑םle.naf.sho.tei.Khemto selves yourH5315
לְאַהֲבָ֖הle.'a.ha.Vahto loveH157
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם\׃'e.lo.hei.KhemGod yourH430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 23:11

  • Joshua 22:5

    But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

  • Deuteronomy 6:5-12

    And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. …

  • Romans 8:28

    And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

  • Jude 1:20-21

    But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

  • 1 Corinthians 8:3

    But if any man love God, the same is known of him.

  • Proverbs 4:23

    Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

  • 1 Corinthians 16:22

    If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha.

  • Exodus 20:6

    And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

  • Hebrews 12:15

    Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

  • Ephesians 5:15

    See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

  • Luke 21:34

    And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

  • Deuteronomy 4:9

    Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Take good.
22:5; De 4:9; 6:5-12; Pr 4:23; Lu 21:34; Eph 5:15; Heb 12:15
yourselves. Heb. your souls. love.
Ex 20:6; Ro 8:28; 1Co 8:3; 16:22; Jude 1:20,21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 23:10

    One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

  • Joshua 23:11

    Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.

  • Joshua 23:12

    Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:

Read all of Joshua 23

Joshua 23:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Por tanto, cuidad mucho por vuestras almas, que améis á Jehová vuestro Dios.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Or prenez bien garde à vos âmes pour aimer l’ Éternel, votre Dieu.
German
Elberfelder 1871
So habet wohl acht auf eure Seelen, daß ihr Jehova, euren Gott, liebet!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Hoc tantum diligentissime præcavete: ut diligatis Dominum Deum vestrum.