Joshua 1:17
in Joshua 1Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only Jehovah thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
KJV
According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
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This verse in Joshua 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseOnly the Lord thy God be with thee - Provided God be with thee, as he was with Moses, we will implicitly obey thee. The words however may mean no more than an earnest prayer for Joshua’s prosperity: May God be with thee, as he was with Moses!
This site's exposition
So they answered Joshua
on Joshua 1:16-18
The answer carries a condition inside it. Their prayer, “may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses”, rests their obedience on the promise of verse 5. The chapter closes with the people saying to Joshua what God had said to him, “be strong and courageous”.
This site's exposition
so we will obey you
Clarke allows two readings: a proviso that they will obey if God is with Joshua, or a plain prayer for his success. Wesley takes the second. He reads the verse as a promise of the same obedience, joined to a prayer that God bless Joshua as He blessed Moses.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
): " Only the Lord thy God be with thee, to bless and prosper thee, and give thee success, as he was with Moses. " Prayers and supplications are to be made for all in authority, 1 Tim. ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Unto thee - The same obedience which we owed, to Moses, we promise unto thee. With Moses - This is not a limitation of their obedience, as if they would not obey him any longer than he was prosperous, but an additional prayer for him. As we have hereby promised thee our obedience, so our prayer shall be, that God would bless and prosper thee, as he did Moses.
According as we have hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee,....
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the L ORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Honour is here put upon Joshua, and great power lodged in his hand, by him that is the fountain of honour and power, and by whom kings reign.
Note, We must not so magnify those that are gone, how eminent soever they were, either in the magistracy or in the ministry, as to be wanting in the honour and duty we owe to those that survive and succeed them, though in gifts they may come short of them.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּכֹ֤ל | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁמַ֙עְנוּ֙ | shama'nu | we listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| נִשְׁמַ֣ע | nishma' | we will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵלֶ֑יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| רַ֠ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֞ה | yihyeh | may he be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עִמָּ֔ךְ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָיָ֖ה | hayah | he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מֹשֶֽׁה׃ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
כְּכֹ֤לaccording to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
שָׁמַ֙עְנוּ֙we listened
shama'nuH8085 →1159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
כֵּ֖ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
נִשְׁמַ֣עwe will listen
nishma'H8085 →1159 times
אֵלֶ֑יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
רַ֠קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
יִֽהְיֶ֞הmay he be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
עִמָּ֔ךְwith you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
הָיָ֖הhe was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
מֹשֶֽׁה׃Moses
moshehH4872 →765 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 1:9Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
it leads to
- Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
- Jeremiah 1:7–8
But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.
- Psalms 27:1–2
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Joshua 1:6–7
Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them.
- Deuteronomy 20:1
When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out…
- Genesis 28:15
Through
Joshua 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.
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Romans 8:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.