Joshua 23:8
in Joshua 23Instead, you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but cleave unto Jehovah your God, as ye have done unto this day.
KJV
But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.
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This verse in Joshua 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTo this day - To wit, since you came in to Canaan; since which time the body of the people (for of them he speaks, not of every particular person) had behaved themselves much better than they did in the wilderness, and had not been guilty of any gross and general apostacy from God, or rebellion against him.
This site's exposition
Be very strong
on Joshua 23:6-8
The charge given Joshua at 1:7, to keep the law without turning right or left, now goes to the whole nation, and the courage asked is courage to keep a book. Verse 7 forbids even invoking their gods' names, as Exodus 23:13 does. The Hebrew verb behind "hold fast" in verse 8, used at Deuteronomy 11:22 and 13:4, turns against the nations at verse 12.
This site's exposition
as you have done to this day
As you have done to this day credits the nation with holding fast through the years of the conquest. Phinehas had used the same closing words at 22:17 of the sin of Peor, still uncleansed to this day. Joshua commends the nation's course as a whole.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Cleave unto the Lord your God, that is, "delight in him, depend upon him, devote yourselves to his glory, and continue to do so to the end, as you have done unto this day, ever since you came to Canaan;" for, being willing to make the best of them, he looks not so far back as the iniquity of Peor.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But cleave unto the Lord your God,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בַּיהוָ֥ה | bayahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| תִּדְבָּ֑קוּ | tidbaku | you will cling | H1692 → | 54 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עֲשִׂיתֶ֔ם | ʾasitem | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
בַּיהוָ֥הto Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
תִּדְבָּ֑קוּyou will cling
tidbakuH1692 →54 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עֲשִׂיתֶ֔םyou have done
ʾasitemH6213 →2628 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 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…
it leads to
- Matthew 22:37
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
- Exodus 20:6
but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
- Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Matthew 22:37
Through
Deuteronomy 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.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:20
You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- 1 Corinthians 6:17
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
- Deuteronomy 10:20
Through
Deuteronomy 10:20You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:22
For 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—
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 6:13
Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.
- Deuteronomy 11:22
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.