Joshua 1:9
in Joshua 1Have 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
KJV
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
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This verse in Joshua 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Have I not commanded you
Three times in four verses Joshua is told to be strong, each time on a different ground. The inheritance at verse 6, the law at verse 7, and here the presence of God. “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” repeats the pair Moses closed with at Deuteronomy 31:8.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
). " The Lord thy God is with thee as a God of power, and that power engaged for thee whithersoever thou goest." Note, Those that go where God sends them shall have him with them wherever they go and they need desire no more to make them easy and prosperous.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
): Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. Joshua had long since signalized his valour, in the war with Amalek, and in his dissent from the report of the evil spies; and yet God sees fit thus to inculcate this precept upon him. Those that have grace have need to be called upon again and again to exercise grace and to improve in it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Have not I commanded thee?.... The above things, to go over Jordan with the people into the land of Canaan, and to observe the law of Moses in all things, and to be of good courage, which is again repeated; consider who it is that has given these orders and instructions, the great Jehovah, the everlasting I AM, who is faithful to his promises, and able to perform.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
now therefore arise, go over this Jordan--Joshua's mission was that of a military leader. This passage records his call to begin the work, and the address contains a literal repetition of the promise made to Moses (De 11:24, 25;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee--Canaan was theirs by a divine grant; and the renewed confirmation of that grant to Joshua when about to lead the people into it, intimated not only a certain but an easy conquest.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And Yehoshua commanded. He did this on the day that completed the days of mourning for Moshe. 19 Moshe died on the seventh day of Adar and he was mourned for thirty days. See Devorim:8.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲל֤וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| צִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙ | tzivitikha | have I commanded you | H6680 → | 494 times |
| חֲזַ֣ק | chazak | be strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| וֶאֱמָ֔ץ | veematz | and be bold | H553 → | 41 times |
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּעֲרֹ֖ץ | taarotz | you be terrified | H6206 → | |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֵּחָ֑ת | techat | you be dismayed | H2865 → | 52 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עִמְּךָ֙ | ʾimekha | [is] with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּכֹ֖ל | bekhol | in every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תֵּלֵֽךְ׃ פ | telekh | you will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
הֲל֤וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
צִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙have I commanded you
tzivitikhaH6680 →494 times
חֲזַ֣קbe strong
chazakH2388 →291 times
וֶאֱמָ֔ץand be bold
veematzH553 →41 times
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּעֲרֹ֖ץyou be terrified
taarotzH6206 →
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תֵּחָ֑תyou be dismayed
techatH2865 →52 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עִמְּךָ֙[is] with you
ʾimekhaH5973 →1050 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
בְּכֹ֖לin every
bekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תֵּלֵֽךְ׃ פyou will go
telekhH1980 →1546 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
Genesis 28:15Look, 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:6
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.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 1:5
No 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.
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Genesis 26:24
and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your…
- Deuteronomy 31:6
Through
Deuteronomy 20:1When 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…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
- Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Joshua
This page draws on 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.