Joshua 23:12
New International Version
“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,

New Living Translation
“But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,

English Standard Version
For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

Berean Standard Bible
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,

King James Bible
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:

New King James Version
Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you,

New American Standard Bible
For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

NASB 1995
“For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

NASB 1977
“For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

Legacy Standard Bible
For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you go along with them and they with you,

Amplified Bible
For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these that are left among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

Christian Standard Bible
If you ever turn away and become loyal to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you,

American Standard Version
Else if ye do at all go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
But if you will return and you will cleave to the remainder of these nations who were left among you, and you shall be to them sonsinlaw, and you shall be joined to them and those among you

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For if ye shall turn aside and attach yourselves to these nations that are left with you, and make marriages with them, and become mingled with them and they with you,

Douay-Rheims Bible
But if you will embrace the errors of these nations that dwell among you, and make marriages with them, and join friendships:

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"But if you turn away and go along with the other nations within your [borders], if you intermarry with them or associate with them,

Good News Translation
If you are disloyal and join with the nations that are still left among you and intermarry with them,

International Standard Version
because if you ever turn back and cling to those who remain of these nations by intermarrying with them and associating one with another,

JPS Tanakh 1917
Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you;

Literal Standard Version
But—if you turn back at all and have cleaved to the remnant of these nations, these who are left with you, and intermarried with them, and gone in to them, and they to you,

Majority Standard Bible
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,

New American Bible
For if you ever turn away from him and join with the remnant of these nations that survive among you, by intermarrying and intermingling with them,

NET Bible
But if you ever turn away and make alliances with these nations that remain near you, and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them,

New Revised Standard Version
For if you turn back, and join the survivors of these nations left here among you, and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours,

New Heart English Bible
Else if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you;

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

World English Bible
“But if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you;

Young's Literal Translation
'But -- if ye at all turn back and have cleaved to the remnant of these nations, these who are left with you, and intermarried with them, and gone in to them, and they to you,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joshua's Charge to Leaders
11Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God. 12For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, 13know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.…

Cross References
Exodus 34:15
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.

Exodus 34:16
And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

Deuteronomy 7:3
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

Deuteronomy 7:4
because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

Joshua 23:11
Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.

Judges 3:6
And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Ezra 9:2
Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!"


Treasury of Scripture

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

go back

Psalm 36:3
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.

Psalm 125:5
As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

Isaiah 1:4
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

cleave

Genesis 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Genesis 34:3
And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

1 Samuel 18:1-3
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul…

shall make

Exodus 34:12-16
Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: …

Deuteronomy 7:3
Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

1 Kings 11:4
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

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Ally Associate Cleave Cling Hold Intermarry Join Joining Marriages Married Marry Nations Remnant Residue Rest Turn Wise Women Yourselves
Joshua 23
1. Joshua's exhortation before his death
3. by former benefits
5. by promises
11. and by threatenings














(12,13) if ye . . . make marriages with them . . . the Lord your God will no more drive out.--The common-sense of this warning is manifest. The God of Israel cannot treat as His enemies those whom Israel has united with itself, unless He also makes war on Israel. It was a long time before Israel learned the lesson how to live in the world without being of the world. It was not learnt until after the Babylonish captivity, and when learnt, it soon developed into a Pharisaical exclusiveness, which produced the very opposite effect to that which the law was intended to have.

Verse 12. - Go back. Literally, return. Cleave. A word (see ver. 8) signifying close and intimate relationship. And the intimacy of the relationship is indicated, as in ver. 8, by the use of the preposition בְּ. Make marriages with them. No closer or more intimate relationship is possible than this. Nothing, therefore, would be more certain to draw the Israelites away from their allegiance to God, and to seduce them and their children into the false and corrupt worship of the nations around them. "Unde deprecor vos qui fidelis estis, ut ita vitam vestram et conversationem servetis, ne in aliquo vel ipsi scandalum patiamini vel aliis scandalum faciatis; sit in vobis summi studii, summaeque cautelae, ne quis in hanc sanctam congregationem vestram pollutus introeat" (Orig., Hom. 21 on Joshua). Go in unto them. Rather, go among them. Spoken of the familiar intercourse of friendship. It is equivalent to our words "associate with them."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֣י ׀ (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

if
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

you turn away
שׁ֣וֹב (šō·wḇ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

and cling
וּדְבַקְתֶּם֙ (ū·ḏə·ḇaq·tem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 1692: To impinge, cling, adhere, to catch by pursuit

to the rest
בְּיֶ֙תֶר֙ (bə·ye·ṯer)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3499: An overhanging, an excess, superiority, remainder, a small rope

of these
הָאֵ֔לֶּה (hā·’êl·leh)
Article | Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

nations
הַגּוֹיִ֣ם (hag·gō·w·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1471: A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts

that remain
הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים (han·niš·’ā·rîm)
Article | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 7604: To swell up, be, redundant

among you,
אִתְּכֶ֑ם (’it·tə·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

and if you intermarry
וְהִֽתְחַתַּנְתֶּ֥ם (wə·hiṯ·ḥat·tan·tem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 2859: To give, away in marriage, to contract affinity by marriage

and associate
וּבָאתֶ֥ם (ū·ḇā·ṯem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

with them,
וְהֵ֥ם (wə·hêm)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They


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OT History: Joshua 23:12 Else if you do at all go (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 23:11
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