I ntroduction: Joshua gives two farewell messages one in Joshua 23 and the other in Joshua 24. My thinking

Transcription

1 23 23:1 16 s Farwll Addrss Part I Outlin of Chaptr 23: vv warns th ldrs of Isral vv s final rmarks Charts v. 6 Th Nw Concpt that th Law of Moss is th Word of God v. 8 Contrasting th Conjunctions in v. 8 and v. 12 I ntroduction: givs two farwll mssags on in 23 and th othr in 24. My thinking is that both of ths mssags wr givn on th sam day to slightly diffrnt groups of popl. In th prvious chaptr, at last th lattr portion of it, I thorizd that th authorship proprly blongd to Phinhas for two rasons: (1) th vocabulary and sntnc structur was mor complx; (2) th vnts rcordd wr givn in grat dtail, although was not a participant; and, (3) th only prson mntiond by nam was Phinhas. In this chaptr w rturn to a simplr vocabulary, and crtainly a much simplr sntnc structur. My thinking is that lft th Word of God in th tnt of worship, but that h pnnd a fw mor words during that last portion of his lif and dcidd to prsnt ths as his last mssag to Isral; and hnc, w hav this chaptr. Kil and Dlitzsch hav a good introduction to this chaptr: Aftr th division of th land among th tribs, had withdrawn to Timnath-srab, on th mountains of Ephraim...to spnd th last days of his lif thr in th quit njoymnt of his own inhritanc. But whn th tim of his dpartur from th arth was drawing nar, rmmbring th call which h had rcivd from th Lord..., h flt constraind to gathr th popl togthr onc mor in th prsons of thir rprsntativs, to warn thm most arnstly of th dangrs of apostasy from th Lord, and point out th vils that would follow. 1 At first, I had just assumd that 23 and 24 wr simply his two farwll mssags to Isral, mad prhaps on th sam day. Barns: Ths addrsss wr no doubt amongst th closing acts of s lif, but wr vidntly givn on diffrnt occasions, and ar of diffrnt charactr and scop. In th formr brifly rminds th princs of th rcnt bnfits of God towards thm and thir popl, dclars that God had fulfilld all His promiss, and xhorts to faithfulnss on thir sid to God that so His mrcis may not b withdrawn; in th lattr h taks a widr rang, rharss th gracious dalings of God with th nation from its vry origin, and upon ths as his grounds, h claims for God thir sincr and ntir srvic. But h grants thm th option of withdrawing from th covnant if thy so choos; and whn thy lct still to abid by it, it is solmnly rnwd by th fr consnt of th whol popl. s rproofs and warnings ar in sum and substanc idntical with thos with which Moss closd his carr (Dut. xxxi., &c.). 2 W don t know whr this took plac. My first guss was that this took plac in Shchm, which is btwn Manassh and Ephraim. I mad that guss bcaus that is whr 24 is said to occur. Sinc s hom was in Manassh, h may hav gottn up to travl to Shiloh, and thn ralizd that h was not going to mak it, and stoppd in Shchm. Howvr, what is said in 24 prcd th mssag hr by yars, so from whnc spok thn has no affct on what h had to say hr. My guss is that h is spaking from Timnath-srah, th city givn to him in th hill country of Ephraim, which Isral had givn him 3 ( 19:50). H is ill, h knows this is his last day, and if is going to summon his popl, it would b 1 Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p Barns Nots, Volum 2, rprintd 1996 by Bakr Books; p Kil and Dlitzsch guss ithr Timnath-srah or Shiloh. Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p. 163.

2 Th Book of 577 most logical for him to summon thm to his homtown if h is at th nd of his lif. Furthrmor, in contxt, it would mak mor sns for him to not mntiond th town to which h has summond ths mn if it wr his hom town, whr h has livd for th past yars. In th intrvning yars btwn 22 and hr, it is vn likly that som of th incidnts arly on in th book of Judgs took plac. You will rcall that th Isralit mind thinks not in trms of tim but subjct mattr. Th book of was bgun by and should nd with. Thrfor, w will dal only with matrial having to do with. Th systm of judgs, which likly bgan during th tim of, is not mntiond, as that is not dirctly rlvant to his lif. In a mor carful xamination of this and th last chaptr, it appars as though 24:1 28 occurrd btwn 22 and 23. What h said was a final addrss prior to dismissing th popl to thir lands, but it was such a fitting nd to his lif, that Phinhas placd that chaptr at th nd of this book. If I taught this vrbally, thn I would go from 21 to ths vrss in 24, and thn go back to 22. I may, in fact, still rarrang th chaptrs in this way. What has surprisd m is that I hav not yt found any commntator who thinks this way. To a man, othr than what Barns wrot, thy all sm to think that 23 and 24 occurrd clos togthr in tim in th ordr in which thy ar found, th only rason bing that that is how thy ar found in Scriptur. What w hav in this chaptr is th final, dathbd mssag th, somthing which w hav sn two tims bfor. Dut. 31 givs th last fw prsonal things which Moss said to Isral, to and to th Lvits; also, it was on of th last tims that God spok to Moss whil h was on this arth. In Dut. 32, w hav th song of Moss, and in chaptr 33 w hav his final blssing of Isral prior to his dath. Jacob also gav his final blssing, as wll as his prdictions, concrning his sons in Gn. 49. is not quit as corny as Jacob, so h is not going to mak a statmnt about ach trib; nor is h as talntd as Moss, so this final mssag will not b a song. Th NIV Study Bibl summarizs this chaptr as follows:, th Lord s srvant, dlivrs a farwll addrss rcalling th victoris th Lord has givn, but also rminding th popl of aras yt to b possssd and of th nd to b loyal to God s covnant laws. Thir mission rmains to b th popl of god s kingdom in th world. 4 Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx Warns th Eldrs of Isral Litrally: And so it was from days many aftrward whn had causd to rst Y howah to Isral from all thir nmis round about. And old and h wnt into th days. 23:1 Smoothr English rndring: And it cam to pass many days latr, aftr God had givn Isral rst from all thir nmis around thm; and himslf was old and advancd in yars. In this vrs w hav th Hiphil prfct of th vrb nûwach ( ) [pronouncd NOO-ahk], which mans rst, caus to rst, st down, lay down, dposit, lav. In th Hiphil, this mans to dposit, to st down, to caus to rst. This is a mor prmannt rst, and can b vn takn to m to b at pac. Strong s #5117 (and 3240) BDB #628. Thr is anothr word usd for rst; shâqa ( ) [pronouncd shaw-kawt], which mans to b quit, to b undisturbd, inactiv. It is a littl lss than prmannt (although th contxt of 11:23) allows for it to b longr. Strong s #8252 BDB #1052. has ndurd a long lif to this point. H is 110 yars old ( 24:29 Judgs 2:8). H spnt 40 of thos yars in th dsrt, on of th fw who wholly supportd Moss, and thrfor on of th two mn of his gnration who survivd thir stay in th wildrnss-dsrt. H thn ld Isral through svn yars of war. At th nd of this war, h would hav bn Calb s ag (85, 14:10) or prhaps a dcad or mor oldr. Prior to distributing th proprty, w vn rad that was old and advancd in yars (this is assuming that 4 Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p. 318.

3 Chaptr :1 6 is corrctly placd, chronologically spaking). Considring that Calb saw himslf as strong and vigorous at ag 85, that mans (1) th war agd considrably and that h had rachd old ag at 85 (w all ag diffrntly); (2) was oldr than Calb to bgin with, by on to two dcads; or, (3) 13:1 6 should b placd right prior to this chaptr, chronologically spaking. 5 What will follow is a mssag which could hav bn givn aftr th land had bn distributd and prior to th incidnt in th prvious chaptr xcpt for th fact of this vrs. This vrs sms to plac a gratr intrval of tim btwn th prvious portion of and this chaptr and th nxt. Throughout th battls of th prvious chaptrs and th subsqunt distribution of land, nothing is said concrning s ag. A mntion of his ag hr sms to indicat that tim has passd; prhaps yars. Apparntly, did th day that h gav this mssag, as v. 14a rads: Now, obsrv, today I am going th way of all th arth... Thr was apparntly a priod of tim aftr th distribution of th land until now whn Isral ngagd in vry fw battls. Thy movd into thir land, no longr opposd by th popl of th land, although thr wr crtainly Canaanits still strwn throughout Isral. And Jhovah gav thm rst on vry sid, according to all that H had sworn to thir fathrs, and no on of all thir nmis took a stand bfor thm; Jhovah gav all thir nmis into thir hand ( 21:44; s also 22:4). And so summond to all of Isral: to thir ldrs and to thir hads and to thir judgs and to thir officrs; and so h said to thm, I hav bcom old; I hav ntrd into th days. 23:2 Th summond all of Isral, thir ldrs: th hads of th tribs, th judgs and th military brass and said to thm, I hav bcom old and I am advancd in yars.. A tiny bit of syntax which w should not hr is that aftr th noun Isral, w do not hav a wâw conjunction. What that mans is that following Isral, w should hav a colon. Whn summond all of Isral, h summond thos who rprsntd all of Isral thir ldrs, thir hads, thir judgs and thir officrs. In fact mor prcisly, as Kil and Dlitzsch put it, th ldrs dscribd th ladrs of th popl in gnral. Thy wr brokn down into thr classs: hads of familis, judgs and th top military officrs. 6 Bcaus thr had bn pac on all sids, had no nd to do anything in particular to lad his popl. H had a wll-oild machin and th tribs of Isral wr sttling into thir land, mntally rmoving thmslvs from th wars that thy wr in and raising thir familis. It was a priod of tim probably not unlik th lat 40 s and arly 50 s in th Unitd Stats. Scofild nots: th last counsls of should b compard with thos of Moss in Dutronomy, spcially chs Lik Moss, rmindd Isral of God's past blssings upon thm, th ncssity of continud obdinc, and urgd thm to furthr conqust. H warnd of th dangrs of worshiping hathn gods and of worldly allianc with hathn nations. dpartur from God would lad invitably to Isral's judgmnt. 's last counsls concludd with a stirring challng to choos th Lord, to srv Him, and wr highlightd by th xhortation to put away forign gods (24:23), shocking vidnc of incipint apostasy which was alrady invading Isral. to 's pla Isral radily rspondd, but this pldg was tragically forsakn aftr th dath of and th ldrs associatd with him. 7 As w will s, will not giv thm any nw doctrins or rvlation; h will rmphasiz that which is most important to th continuation of and prosprity of Isral. H will warn thm about falling away from thir covnant 5 Allow m a tangnt hr; chronologically spaking, 13:1 6 would fall quit natly into plac prcding 23. Th only problm with this is that th quot of God spaking to would hav bn sparatd in tim by prhaps two dcads, th first portion (vv. 2 6 occurring at th nd of s lif; and th scond portion, v. 7, occurring a dcad or so arlir, prior to th distribution of th land). Givn th fact that much of th Bibl is organizd mor by subjct than by chronology, this would not b out of th qustion. 6 7 Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p Th Nw Scofild Rfrnc Bibl; Dr. C.I. Scofild; 1967 Nw York Oxford Univrsity Prss; p. 285.

4 Th Book of 579 with God. Thy ar not to dviat from th Law of Moss, which was th canon of Scriptur to thm. Thr ar nations which rmaind within th Land of Canaan, nations which Isral was to driv out. Thy wr to b carful not to intrmarry and thn follow th gods of ths othr nations. H will finally rmind thm that all that God promisd, H has don and that God will rmov thm from this land if ncssary. Thr is somthing ls that I want you to notic hr. Thr ar a lot of popl who claim that thy don t bliv in dispnsations who rally do. Th trm dispnsation is prhaps not th bst of trms to b adoptd by thologians, particularly bcaus what Protstants mans and what Catholics man by this trm ar so ntirly diffrnt. It rfrs, in th Grk, to th administration of a houshold, not to a priod of tim; although w oftn tak it as a block of tim. Whn th word occurs in th Nw Tstamnt, it rfrs strictly to th administration of a houshold. Thr ar also words usd in th Grk to rfr to th succssion of vnts in tim as wll as to pochs of tim (or tim priods). As long as you undrstand that in th Old Tstamnt, thr was a systm of sacrifics, that God workd primarily in th nation Isral, and that thr was no baptism of th Spirit; thn you ar a dispnsationist, vn though you call yourslf a covnant thologian. Bcaus what w hav is a diffrnt way in which God s houshold was administrd. Thr wr diffrnt ruls, a diffrnt form of spirituality, and a diffrnt sort of rsponsibility. Isral, a nation of blivrs, was tratd as a whol. Whn on mmbr, during crucial tim priods, was out of lin, th ntir congrgation was affctd. W hav studid th nationally dvastation sins of Achan and Korah in this rgard (Num. 16 7). Also, what was oftn rquird, as Thim usd to put it, was a spiritual Atlas, a man who would carry Isral. W hav sn that with Moss and ; and w will hav that with King David. Now hr is th point I hav bn lading up to. Not vryon in Isral has accss to th Word of God. Moss has taught it and has taught it; and it is ngravd on stons; but not vry man can hav a problm and go to living room and pick up God s Word for guidanc. This was not availabl at that tim. Thrfor, thr wr crtain mn upon whos shouldrs was th rsponsibility of honorabl and moral ladrship ths ar th ldrs: th hads of tribs, th judgs and th military ladrs. God placd a grat burdn of ladrship on thir shouldrs. Today, in th Church Ag, it is a whol diffrnt ball gam. Th ladrs of a church or any othr rligious organization, hav a grat rsponsibility bfor God. Howvr, in this dispnsation, undr this administration of God s houshold in this ag, vry individual blivr has trmndous rsponsibility and is in full-tim Christian srvic. Now, th pastor of your church may not know you prsonally, or vn b abl to pick you out of a crowd. Howvr,, your contributions spiritually ar absolutly ncssary. Whthr it is by prayr, or giving, or witnssing, or mptying out th wast baskts and swping th floors (somthing which I prsonally did for a Christian radio station for a half-dozn yars, bcaus I did not hav th mony to giv). In fact, whn I did that, I did not know a soul at that radio station by nam. I don t know if thy knw m by nam or vn had my addrss. It was what God had ld m to do and that was my giving for svral yars. W all hav a plac in God s plan, an important function. W hav all bn baptizd by th Holy Spirit into th body of Christ and vry singl on of us is ncssary and has a function in his plan (I Cor. 12:13 27). Whn I was a janitor in that radio station, my function thr was no lss important than th mn who ran th radio station (rgardlss of what thy or I thought at th tim). God may giv you a half dozn popl in your ntir lif to witnss to. You might actually giv thm th gospl but onc or twic during th twnty or fifty yars that you know thm. Th tstimony of your lif to thm day in and day out is part of your daily ministry. Your lif bfor thm should b irrproachabl, yt lacking in slf rightousnss. Whn you fail bfor thm, thn you admit to it. Confss your faults to on anothr (Jams 5:16a). You s, onc and awhil, sinc w ar dlving so dply into th Old Tstamnt, I hav to stop and rmind you what has changd and what is diffrnt btwn thn and now. No blivr in th Old Tstamnt was xhortd to b filld with th Spirit; in fact, thir knowldg of th Holy Spirit was sktchy at bst (Isa. 48:16); howvr, w ar ordrd to walk by th Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and to b filld with th Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Ours is an individual ministry, tid to a body, howvr, in such a way that th othr parts of th body oftn don t vn raliz that w ar thr. W hav our function and w ar to act within th guidlins of our Lord and to lad our livs as unto th Lord.

5 Chaptr And you [all] hav sn all which Y howah your God has don to all th nations th ths from bfor your facs bcaus H [was] th on fighting for you [all]. 23:3 Furthrmor, you hav all sn that which Jhovah your God has don to all ths nations bfor you; H is th On Who fights for you. My thinking is that wrot ths thoughts down and handd thm to Phinhas aftr spaking thm. Phinhas thn addd th scrolls to God s Word, whr thy likly blongd. Th sntnc structur is fairly simpl again, as is th vocabulary. W don t hav much by way of disagrmnt in th various translations. Thr wr svral nations which wr wll-stablishd in Isral powrful, grat nations of tough individuals and Isral took thm down. This is apropos that point this out to ths mn. Th indignous nations worshippd othr, hathn gods, and God bat thm down bfor Isral bcaus of thir hathn worship. As Moss told th popl: Stand still and watch th dlivranc of Jhovah, which H will accomplish for you today; for th Egyptians whom you hav sn today, you will nvr s thm again forvr. Jhovah will fight for you whil you kp silnt. (Ex. 14:13b 14; s Dut. 1:30 10:14, 42 as wll). In days of old, You, with Your own hand, drov out th nations; thn You plantd thm and You thn afflictd th popls, thn You sprad thm abroad, for by thir own sword, thy did not possss th land, and thir own arm did not dlivr thm; but by Your right hand, and Your arm and th light of Your prsnc, for You favord thm (Psalm 44:1b 3). What should logically follow, without vn mntioning it, is that if Isral pursus othr gods, thn th sam fat will bfall Isral., not bing th typ of prson to imply anything, will just stat this outright. Obsrv, I had causd to fall to you [all] th nations th rmaining ons th thos as an inhritanc to your tribs from th Jordan (and all th nations that I cut off) and th Sa th Grat a going in of th sun. 23:4 You will crtainly obsrv that I hav droppd into your lap all of ths nations as your inhritanc, from th Jordan all th way to th Grat Sa ar all th nations which I cut off. W hav a fw minor problms with this vrs, so lt s look at it a bit mor carfully: Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB Own's Translation Bhold, I hav allottd to you ths nations which rmain as an inhritanc for your tribs, from th Jordan, and all th nations which I hav cut off, vn unto th grat sa, at th going in of th sun. S, I hav apportiond to you ths nations which rmain as an inhritanc for your tribs, with all th nations which I hav cut off from th Jordan vn to th Grat Sa toward th stting of th sun. Bhold! I hav allottd to you th nations that rmain, thos as an inhritanc for your tribs from th Jordan (with all th nations that I hav alrady cut off) to th Grat Sa in th wst. Young's Lit. Translation...s, I hav causd to fall to you ths nations who ar lft for an inhritanc to your tribs, from th Jordan, (and all th nations which I cut off), and th grat sa, th going in of th sun. Th first vrb is th Qal imprativ of râ âh ( ) [pronouncd raw-awh], which mans to s. In th st imprativ, it mans look, s, bhold, viw. Strong's #7200 BDB #906. Th scond vrb is th 1 prson singular, Hiphil prfct of nâphal ( ) [pronouncd naw-fahl], which mans to fall, to b brought down, to sttl. This word is usd, in th Hiphil, to man, among othr things, to cast lots (I Chron. 26:14 Nh. 10:35 11:1 Esthr 9:24 Job 6:27 Psalm 22:19 Isa. 34:17). It appars to hav th maning allottd to, apportiond in 13:6, howvr, it mans caus hr to fall. Strong's #5307 BDB #656. Th nxt vrb is th Niphal participl of shâ ar ( ) [pronouncd shaw-ahr] which mans, in th Niphal, to rmain, to b lft ovr. In th participl, shâ ar is usd as an adjctiv and it mans th ons rmaining, thos rmaining, th part rmaining. Strong s #7604 BDB #983.

6 Th Book of 581 Prior to inhritanc in th Hbrw, w hav th bêyth prposition, which mans in, into, by, with, against. It looks vry much lik th kaph prposition (bêyth = ; kaph = ). For that rason, you will not that many of th vry litral translators rndrd this as, as; which is how kaph is gnrally rndrd. Young, for som unknown rason, rndrs this as though it wr a lâmd ( ). Th nations, th rmaining ons rfr to thos nations which ar still in th land of Canaan; all of th nations which I cut off rfrs to thos nations in Canaan which Isral had conqurd. H also drov our th nations bfor thm and H apportiond thm for an inhritanc by masurmnt, and h causd th tribs of Isral to dwll in thir tnts (Psalm 78:44). b b Th last phras is th masculin singular construct of mâ vô ( ) [pronouncd maw -VOE), which mans, an ntranc, a coming in, an ntring. Strong s #3996 (& 3997) BDB #99. This is followd by th dfinit articl and th fminin singular noun shmsh ( ) [pronouncd SHEH-mhsh], which mans sun. Strong s #8121 BDB #1039. Whn thy lookd to th wst in th vning, thy would s th sun going down into th Mditrranan Sa. Btwn vv. 3 5, s point will b that God has dstroyd th nations in th land of Canaan bcaus of thir hathn worship. H brought in Isral and ths nations wr dstroyd bfor Isral not bcaus of thir strngth, but bcaus of th strngth of th Lord. Thy should thrfor larn th asy way thy should worship Jsus Christ, th God of Isral; and thy should not worship th hathn gods who lurk within th citis of th nations still to b conqurd. And Y howah your God, H will push thm back from your facs and H will caus to dispossss thm out from your facs and you will possss thir land as that promisd Y howah your God to you. 23:5 And Jhovah your God will push thm back from you and H will driv thm out from bfor you and you will thn possss th land as Jhovah your God has promisd you. Th first vrb is th Qal imprfct of hâdaph ( ) [pronouncd haw-dahf], which mans to thrust out, to push out, to driv out. Strong s #1920 BDB #213. Th scond vrb w hav sn svral tims in th past; it is th rd 3 prson masculin singular, Hiphil prfct of yârash ( ) [pronouncd yaw-rahsh] mans to possss, to tak possssion of, to occupy [all] gographical ara by driving out th prvious occupants], to inhrit, to dispossss. In th Hiphil, it mans to caus to possss, to caus to inhrit, to caus to dispossss. Strong s #3423 nd BDB #439. thn uss th 2 prson plural, Qal prfct of th sam vrb. This is still th that w know and lov; th with a vry limitd vocabulary. H promiss th Isralits that God will driv th rmaining nations from bfor Isral. As God told Moss Isral back in Ex. 23:30: I will driv thm out bfor you littl by littl, until you bcom fruitful and tak possssion of th land. Ex. 33:2: And I will snd an angl bfor you and I will driv out th Canaanit, th Amorit, th Hittit, th Prizzit, th Hivit and th Jbusit. Num. 33:53: And you will tak possssion of th land and you will liv in it, for I hav givn th land to you to possss it. And you [all] will b strong to kp and to do all th writing in a book of th Law of Moss to not turn from it right and lft. 23:6 And you must b stadfast to kp and to do all which is writtn in th book of th Law of Moss, and not to dviat from it to th lft or th right. nd Th first vrb is not in th imprativ (as it appars in som Bibl translations), but it is th 2 prson masculin plural, Qal prfct of châzaq ( ) [pronouncd khaw-zahk], which mans to b strong, firm, to strngthn. Strong s #2388 BDB #304. On of th lattr words in this vrs is th fminin singular of yâmîyn ( ) [pronouncd yaw-meen], which mans th right hand, th right sid, th right. Strong s #3225 BDB #411. Thr is no prcding prposition.

7 Chaptr Th adjoind noun is th masculin singular of s mô l ( ) [pronouncd s MOHL], which mans th lft, th lft hand. Strong s #8040 BDB #969. Thr is th prfct and thr ar hundrds of dviations from prfction. God s Law, for th Isralits, was prfct, and all dviations from His Law would bring thm grat misry. Now, what is important to grasp is that rcognizd th canon as it xistd in that day th Law of Moss. W s this from a far distanc away in tim, but at that point in tim, th ida that th Law of Moss was th Word of God was a rlativly nw concpt. Lt s tak this in points: 1. So far, no on has quotd from th book of Gnsis as th Word of God. Thr is history thrin which is rfrncd to tim and tim again (primarily to th promiss of God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob); but w do not find authoritativ quotations yt. 2. Thr is no mntion of th book of Job. In fact, this book is somwhat of an anomaly in Scriptur. It is quotd onc in th Nw Tstamnt, indicating that it stood as th Word of God; and thr ar grat lssons that w larn from this book; but th only tim it is quotd is in th Nw Tstamnt and thn th quot is of on of Job s frinds, and not a quot from Job himslf. 3. Moss, from Exodus through Numbrs, was vry carful to not whn God was spaking and what th gnral instructions wr. Howvr, in th book of Dutronomy, a collction of Moss spchs (or, srmons, if you will), Moss is spaking with grat authority. 4. Moss affirms th authority of God s Word as h rcordd it in Dut. 5:31 33, by spaking what God had dirctd him to spak: But as for you, stand hr by M that I may spak to you all th commandmnts and th statuts and th judgmnts which you will tach thm, that thy may obsrv ths in th land which I hav givn you to possss. So you will obsrv just what Jhovah your God has commandd you you will not dviat to th right or to th lft. You will walk in all th ways which Jhovah your God has commandd you, that you may liv, and that it may b wll with you, so that you prolong your days in th land which you will possss. S also Dut. 17: Moss dclard again and again that blssing would b affordd to thos who obyd God s Word, which h himslf had writtn: Thn Jhovah your God will prospr you abundantly in all th work of your hand, in your progny, as wll as th offspring of your cattl and th produc from you ground, for Jhovah will again rjoic ovr you for good, just as H rjoicd ovr your fathrs; if you oby Jhovah your God and kp His commandmnts and His statuts which ar writtn in this Book of th Law; if you turn to Jhovah your God will all your hart and soul...i call upon havn and arth to witnss against you today, that I hav st bfor you lif and dath, th blssing and th curs. So choos lif in ordr that you may liv you and your dscndants. Lov Jhovah your God and oby His voic, and hold fast to Him, for this is your lif and th lngth of your days, that you may liv in th land which Jhovah swor to your fathrs, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to giv it to you. (Dut. 30:9 10, 19 20). 6. That Moss wrot this is affirmd svral tims: So Moss wrot this law and gav it to th prists (Dut. 31:9a). And it cam to pass, whn Moss had finishd writing th words of this law in a book until thy wr complt, that h commandd th Lvits who carrid th ark of th covnant of Jhovah, saying, Tak this book of th law and plac it bsid th ark of th covnant of Jhovah your God, that is may rmain thr as a witnss against you. (Dut. 31:23 26). 7. God affirmd this authority in 1:7: Only b strong and vry couragous; b carful to do according to all th law which Moss, My srvant, commandd you. Do not dviat to th right or lft, so that you will prospr whrvr you go. 8. smd to grasp th importanc of th canon of Scriptur as thy had it in that day, and h addd to Dutronomy (th last fw chaptrs) and pickd up, without missing a bat, in his book. 9. On of th first things that was don in th land was to ngrav God s Word th Word of Moss on th stons in 8:32 in obdinc to Dut. 27: , ovr and ovr again, told his popl to cling to th commandmnts of God, which would b found only in th Word of God. Only b carful to obsrv th commandmnts and th law which Moss, th srvant of Jhovah, commandd you to lov Jhovah your God and to walk in all His ways and to kp His

8 Th Book of 583 commandmnts and to hold fast to Him and to srv Him with all your hart and with all your soul. ( 22:5). B strong, thn, and kp and do all th is writtn in th book of th Law of Moss, so that you may not dviat from it to th right or to th lft. ( 23:6). 11. Thrfor, vn as arly as th incption of th nation Isral, thr was known to th popl that thr xistd th Word of God; which consistd at last of th writings of Moss. Howvr, it was also known that appndd this. And wrot ths words in th Book of th Law of God; and h took a larg ston and st it up thr undr th oak that was by th sanctuary of Jhovah. And said to all th popl, Bhold, this ston is a witnss against us, for it was hard all th words of Jhovah which H spok with us; thus it will stand as a witnss against you, so that you do not dny your God. ( 24:26 27). Rturn to Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx To not go in th nations th ths th rmaining ons th ths with you [all] and in a nam of thir gods, you will not mak mntion and you will not swar and you will not srv thm and you will not bow down to thm; 23:7 And you will not go into ths nations which rmain and, in rspct to thir gods, mak mntion of thm; nor will you swar by thm; nor will you srv thm; nor will you do obisanc to thm; On of th vrbs in this vrs is th Hiphil imprfct of zâkar ( ) [pronouncd zaw-kahr] mans which mans rmmbr, rcall, call to mind. Rothrham rndrs this mak mmorial and footnots it as call to rmmbranc. Strong s #2142 BDB #269. Thr wr four things forbiddn to th Isralits: thy wr not to ruminat on th hathn gods; thy wr not to swar of mak oaths basd upon thos fals gods; thy wr not to function in srvic to ths gods; and thy wr not to show rvrnc towards ths gods. Do not mntion th nam of othr gods, nor lt thir nams b hard from your mouth. (Ex. 23:13b). You will hav no gods bfor M. You will not mak for yourslf an idol, or any liknss of what is in th havn abov or in th arth blow or in th watr undr th arth. You will not worship thm nor will you srv thm. (Dut. 5:7 9). You will rvr Jhovah your god only; an dyou will worship Him and swar by His nam. You will not follow othr gods not any of th gods of th popls who surround you, for Jhovah your God in th midst of you is a jalous God; othrwis th angr of Jhovah your God will b kindld against you, and H will wip you off th fac of th arth. (Dut. 6:13 15). You will rvr Jhovah your god; you will srv Him and you will cling to Him; and you will swar by His nam. (Dut. 10:20). Evn this had gottn out of control by th tim of th Church Ag: But abov all, my brothrs, do not swar, ithr by havn or by arth or with any othr oath; just lt your ys b ys, and your no b no; so that you will not fall undr judgmnt (Jams 5:12). Th rligion of Isral was xclusiv. Thr was no middl ground. All roads did not lad to Rom. You will not mak a covnant with thm or with thir gods. Thy will not liv in your land, lst thy mak you sin against M; for in srving thir gods, you will fall into a trap. (Ex. 23:32 33). You will rvr Jhovah your god and you will worship Him and you will swar by His nam. You will not follow othr gods, any of th gods of th popls who surround you, for Jhovah your God in your midst of you is a jalous god; othrwis th angr of Jhovah your God will b kindld against you, and H will rmov you from th fac of th arth. (Dut. 6:13 15). S also Ex. 20:5 23:13 Dut. 7:2 3 10:20 Psalm 16:4. This xclusivity has bn charactristic of Christianity and Christian Judaism from tim immmorial. W don t find th sam xclusivity in most brands of Judaism today.

9 Chaptr Only in Y howah your God you cling as which you hav don until th day th this, and so dispossssd Y howah from your facs nations grat and strong and you, not withstood a man in your facs until th day th this. 23:8 9 Only cling to Jhovah your God as you hav don up until this day, and Jhovah will continu to dispossss bfor you th nations, both grat and strong; no man has withstood you vn until this day. This is anothr vrs whr it should not hav bn sparatd, so I placd th vrss togthr. Th Hbrw is a littl difficult, so I will mntion a fw othr translations: Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB NRSV But unto Yahwh your God must y clav, as y hav don until this day; thrfor hath Yahwh dispossssd from bfor you nations grat and strong, but as for you not a man hath stood bfor you, until this day. But you ar to cling to th LORD your God, as you hav don to this day. For th LORD has drivn out grat and strong nations from bfor you; and as for you, no man has stood bfor you to this day....but hold fast to th LORD your God, as you hav don to this day. For th LORD has drivn out bfor you grat and strong nations; and as for you, no on has bn abl to withstand you to this day. Young's Lit. Translation...but to Jhovah your God y do clav, as y hav don till this day. And Jhovah is dispossssing from bfor you nations grat and mighty; as for you, non hath stood in your prsnc till this day. V. 8 bgins with th kîy îm ( ) [pronouncd k-m] which litrally is bcaus if; howvr, togthr thy act as a limitation on th prcding thought, and thrfor should b rndrd but, xcpt, unlss and possibly only. Strong s #3588 & 518 BDB #471 & 49. Prior to th propr nam Y howah, w hav h bêyth prposition, which mans in, among, into, against, with, at, b through, by. No Strong s # BDB #88. Th vrb which follows is th Qal imprfct of dâ vaq ( ) [pronouncd b daw -VAHK], which mans to cling, to clav, to hold clos, to kp clos, to adhr. Whn followd by th bêyth prposition, th rndring of to cling to or to adhr to sms to b rasonabl (Dut. 11:22 30:20 Job 19:20). Strong s #1692 BDB #179. All of what says throughout his book has bn said bfor by Moss; or rcordd by Moss: You will rvr Jhovah your God; you will srv Him and you will cling to Him; and you will swar by His nam. (Dut. 10:20). Thr wr a coupl of commntaris that I rad which said that apostasy had alrady crpt into Isral, as implid by th phras as you all hav don until this day. Howvr, that rfrs to th clinging of Isral to God. It was bcaus of this stadfast faithfulnss to God that God gav Isral victory ovr th indignous nations of th Land of Promis. nd Aftr th adjctivs grat and mighty, w hav th wâw conjunction and th 2 prson masculin plural pronoun. Most of th translators hav gon with and as for you. I rndrd litrally simply as and you [all]. Th final vrb, accompanid by a ngativ, is th Qal prfct of âmad ( ) [pronouncd aw-mahd], which mans to tak a stand, to stand, to rmain, to ndur, to withstand. Strong's #5975 BDB #763. And H will dlivr thir kings into your hand so that you will mak thir nam prish from undr havn; no man will b abl to stand bfor you until you hav dstroyd thm. (Dut. 7:24; s Dut. 11:23 and 1:5 as wll). ncourags ths popl to cling to God, as thy hav in th past, and to continu to do so in th futur. It is bcaus of thir adhring to God that no on has takn a stand against thm in th land of Canaan. McG: Th grav dangrs of crossing th Jordan Rivr, facing an nmy in a strang land, ncountring th unknown on ry hand, and mting far on vry sid, had kpt Isral clos to th Lord. rcognizd that now sinc thy had ntrd into rst and wr njoying prosprity and plnty, thy would drift away from god. That is th story of human natur. It nvr changs. At th tim of this writing, I fl that th Unitd Stats is facing a similar situation. Aftr World War II, I was disturbd that God had judgd Europ and vn Russian and Kora.

10 Th Book of 585 How ths nations suffrd, but w cam through unscathd! Whil othr nations wnt through a priod of hardship, our nation ntrd an ra of prosprity and afflunc. I could not undrstand why God did not judg us. Thn I ralizd that H was tsting us with prosprity. Th most dangrous priod any popl can go through is not th tim of grav dangr and suffring, but th tim of pac and plnty. This is th rason is giving Isral this charg. God has don ths wondrful things for you; now stay clos to Him, and oby Him. If you do this, God will continu to blss you. Thn h warns thm what will happn if thy turn from thir God. 8 A man on from you [all] pursus a thousand bcaus Y howah your God, H [is] th On fighting for you [all] as which H promisd to you [all]. 23:10 On man of you will put to flight a thousand of your nmy bcaus Jhovah your God is th On Who fights on your bhalf, as H had promisd. This is an intrsting statmnt, considring th siz of th fighting forc of Isral (roughly 600,000 mn strong). This maks Isral hug with rspct to fighting forc. As I hav mntiond in th past, I fl as though th population of Isral could b rducd by a factor of tn to b mor ralistic. Howvr, I do not hav a basis for this right now othr than a gut fling. I hav not spnt any amount of tim rsarching this particular topic. Th principal is tru, ithr way. With God as thir ally, th Isralits wr unstoppabl. This principl, lik most mntiond in this book, is not original with. W rad in Lv. 26:7 8: You will chas you nmis and thy will fall bfor you by th sword. Fiv of you will chas a hundrd and a hundrd of you will chas tn thousand; furthrmor, your nmis will ball bfor you by th sword. W rad about on of thos mn in Judgs 3:13: and aftr him cam Shamgar bn Anath, who struck down 600 Philistins with an oxgoad; h also dlivrd Isral. Sampson killd a thousand (Judgs 15:15). And tak car to your souls to lov Y howah your God. 23:11 Just tak car to lov Jhovah your God in your soul. Th first vrb is th Niphal prfct of shâmar ( ) [pronouncd shaw-mar] and it mans kp, guard, watch, prsrv. Th Niphal has svral diffrnt manings, dpnding upon sntnc structur and contxt; hr it would man tak hd, tak car, b carful to. Strong's #8104 BDB #1036. Hr, it is followd by th lâmd prposition and th fminin plural of nphsh ( ) [pronouncd NEH-fsh], a word which occurs around 800 tims in th Old Tstamnt. This mans soul, lif, living bing, dsir; sinc volition is a part of th soul, this word nd is tid occasionally to volition. Strong s #5315 BDB #659. With this is a 2 prson masculin plural suffix. so ordrd his popl in 22:5 and Moss in Dut. 6:5. Jsus raffirmd this in Matt. 22:36 37: And a lawyr askd Him a qustion, tsting, Him, Tachr, which is th grat commandmnt in th Law? And H said to him, You will lov th Lord your God with all your hart and with all your soul and with all your mind. As w hav sn throughout th Old Tstamnt, th God of th Old Tstamnt is not simply a God of vnganc Who has bn mad mor palatabl in th Nw Tstamnt as a God of lov. God is lov throughout Scriptur and thr is no diffrnc btwn th God of th Nw and th God of th Old Tstamnt. This is ignoranc passd along by popl who hav suprficially rad a fw passags hr or thr in both tstamnts. Only a turning [to], you turn and you cling in a rmnant of th nations th ths th ons rmaining hr in your midst and you marry with thm and you go into thm and thy into you; 23:12 Howvr, if you turn back and cling to th rmnant of ths nations which ar in your midst; and you marry thm and you hav rlations with thm, Lt m just giv you a coupl othr translation options: 8 J. Vrnon McG, Judgs, h1976 by Thru th Bibl Books; p. 102.

11 Chaptr Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB But if y do in any wis turn back and clav unto th rmnant of ths nations, thos which rmain with you, and intrmarry with thm and go in with thm and thy with you; For if you vr go back and cling to th rst of ths nations, ths which rmain among you, and intrmarry with thm, so that you associat with thm and thy with you,... Young's Lit. Translation But if y at all turn back and hav clavd to th rmnant of ths nations, ths who ar lft with you, and intrmarrid with thm, and gon in to thm, and thy to you,... Thr is not much diffrnc in th manings of ths various translation (thr rarly is a srious diffrnc btwn ths thr), thr ar a fw things that you would miss. This vrs bgins xactly as did v. 8; litrally, it is for if; howvr, togthr th two Hbrw words oftn mans only. Not th diffrnc: KJV NAB, NASB, NRSV, Own NJB NKJV NIV, Rothrham, Young v. 8 but but on th contrary but but v. 12 ls if for if but or ls, if but if Rturn to Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx Th us of th if in v. 8 was rndrd unncssary bcaus it was quickly followd by a lâmd prposition. Th b b vrb, shûw v ( ) [pronouncd shoo v], is found twic at th bginning of this vrs; first as a Qal infinitiv absolut and thn as a Qal imprfct. It mans to rturn, to turn, to rminisc, to rstor somthing, to bring back somthing, to rcovr somthing, th mak rstitution. Strong's #7725 BDB #996. Th turning is both a turning away from God and a turning toward ths othr nations. Thr is not a rturning pr s, but a turning toward. Moss warnd against intrmarriag in Dut. 7:3 4: Furthrmor, you will not intrmarry with th popl of th land; you will not giv your daughtrs to thir sons nor will you tak thir daughtrs for your sons. For thy will turn your sons away from following M to srv othr gods; thn th angr of Jhovah will b kindld against you, and H will quickly dstroy you. (s also Ex. 34:15 16). In Ezra 9:1 4 and Nh. 13:25 26 Psalm 106:34 35, w rad about intrmarriag and problms connctd thrto. Th NIV Study Bibl: Th Lord prohibitd alliancs, ithr national or domstic, with th popls of Canaan bcaus such alliancs would tnd to compromis Isral s 9 loyalty to th Lord. That bing said, th rfrnc to intrmarriag and to sxual rlations in this vrs is not somthing that w can hold out as a Scriptur which forbids intrracial marriags. Th intntion was to kp Isral pur from apostasy and rligious hrsy, not from othr groups of popl. If you bcom closly involvd with somon who opposs th faith, thn you ar making on of th biggst mistaks of your lif. This is th maning hr. Tim and tim again w will hav popl in th lin of Christ who wr not of th sd of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (two quick xampls which com to mind ar Rahab th prostitut and Ruth th Moabitss). Zodhiats: In th last two chaptrs of th book, addrssd Isral twic. On of th faturs of this first spch was a strn warning about th consquncs of apostasy. Although God intndd to driv out th rmaining Canaanits (Josh. 13:2 6), H would not do it if Isral was unfaithful to Him. Th book of Judgs rvals th tragic story of Isral s infidlity and th consquncs that followd Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995 by Th Zondrvan Corporation; p Th Complt Word Study Old Tstamnt; Dr. S. Zodhiats; 1994 AMG Publishrs; p. 635.

12 Th Book of 587 A knowing, you [all] will know that will not continu Y howah your God to dispossss th 11 nations th ths from bfor your facs; and thy will b to you [all] for a bird-trap and for bait and for a scourg against your sids and for thorns in your ys until your prishing from unto th arth th good th this which has givn you Y howah your God. 23:13 You will clarly know that, undr thos circumstancs, that Jhovah your God will not continu to dispossss ths nations from bfor you; thy will b to you a snar and a trap and a scourg to your sids and thorns in your ys until you prish from this good arth, which was givn to you by Jhovah your God. In v. 13, givs th rsult of v. 12. Th first thing which ths nations will b is th masculin singular of pach ( ) [pronouncd pahkh], which mans a bird-trap. Strong s #6341 BDB #809. Th scond word is th masculin singular of môhqêsh ( ) [pronouncd moh-kaysh], which mans th bait or lur for a trap. Strong s #4170 BDB #430. crowds his figurs togthr to dpict th misry and opprssion which would b sur to rsult from fllowship with th Canaanits, bcaus, from his knowldg of th ficklnss of th popl, and th wickdnss of th human hart in its natural stat, h could fors that th apostasy of th nation from th Lord, which Moss had fortold, would tak plac but too quickly; as it actually did, according to Judg. 2:3ff., in th vry nxt gnration. 12 As has bn mntiond, th problm is not simply that ths othr popl ar forign or diffrnt, but that thy will nsnar Isral with thir hathn rligion, oftn through thir womn, and thrby Isral away from Jhovah thir God. Ex.34:12: Watch yourslf that you mak no covnant with th inhabitants of th land into which you ar going, so that it dos not bcom a snar in your midst. But, you will tar down thir altars and you will smash thir pillars and you will cut down thir Ashrim; and you will not worship any othr god, for Jhovah, whos nam is Jalous, is a jalous God. And Num. 33:55: Howvr, if you do not driv out th inhabitants of th land from bfor you, thn it will com to pass that thos who rmain will b as thorns in your ys and as thorns in your sids, and thy will troubl you in th land which you liv. Th classic cas history tst is King Solomon, who had th potntial of bing a king prhaps as grat as David. For it cam to pass whn Solomon was old, that his wivs turnd his hart away aftr othr gods; and his hart was not wholly dvotd to Jhovah his God as th hart of David his fathr (I Kings 11:4). Th vntual rsult of thir unfaithfulnss to God is found in II Kings 25:21, on of th saddst vrss in Scriptur: Thn th king of Babylon struck thm down and put thm to dath at Tiblah in th land of Hamath. So Judah was ld away into xil from its land. Rturn to Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx s Final Rmarks And lo, I am dparting th day in a way of all th land and you [all] know in all of your hart and in all of your soul for not falln word on which promisd Y howah your God concrning you; th all has com in for you; not falln from Him word on. 23:14 Now, listn carfully, I am about to go this day th way of all arth and all of you know in your hart and in your soul that not on word which God has promisd has faild concrning you. All has bn fulfilld; not on word has faild you. In th closing rmarks of th last fw vrss, sums up brifly and concisly th lading thoughts of th first part, giving gratr prominnc, howvr, to th curs which would follow th apostasy from th Lord Four arly printd ditions rcords this as all of ths nations (Josph Bryant Rothrham s Th Emphasizd Bibl; h1971 by Krgl Publications; p. 257) Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; 1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. II, p. 165.

13 Chaptr Th maning of this vrs is asy to ascrtain, but thr ar a fw words hr that you may not hav gussd at; thrfor, lt m giv you a fw rndrings: Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB But lo! I am going to-day, in th way of all th arth, y must acknowldg, thrfor with all your hart and with all your soul that thr hath not faild a singl thing, out of all th good things which Yahwh your God spak concrning you, th whol hath com to pass to you, thr hath not faild throf a singl thing. Now bhold, today I am going th way of all th arth, and you know in all your harts and in all your souls that not on word of all th good words which th LORD your God spok concrning you has faild; all hav bn fulfilld for you, not on of thm has faild. Young's Lit. Translation And lo I am going, to-day, in th way of all th arth, and y hav know with all your hart, and with all your soul that thr hath not falln on thing of all th good things which Jhovah your God hath spokn concrning you; th whol hav com to you; thr hath not faild of it on thing. Aftr th wâw conjunction w hav th dmonstrativ particl hinnêh ( ) [pronouncd hin-nay] lo, bhold. Mor frly, w can go with obsrv, look hr, look, listn, pay attntion, gt this, chck this out, holy crap. Strong s #2009 (and #518, 2006) BDB #243. Th first vrb is th Qal activ participl of our old frind hâlak ( ) [pronouncd haw-lahk ], which mans to go, to com, to dpart, to walk. Strong s #1980 (and #3212) BDB #229. It is prcdd by th prsonal pronoun I. Aftr this, w litrally hav th day, which is gnrally rndrd today, and, in som instancs, such as now, w could gt away with translating it this day. This indicats that this was s last day to spak to ths popl. It is likly that this is his last day on this arth. H knw that h was dying and h calld for th hads of stat to spak to thm on last tim and to warn thm on last tim. Although it is possibl that chaptrs 23 and 24 occurrd on th sam day (or during th sam month), and wr not rally sparatd by any significant priod of tim, I think that th surrounding vrss of s spch in chaptr 24 indicat that this was a particularly stirring spch which Phinhas saw as a fit mmorial to s lif. Eithr h wrot down th spch word-for-word on th day that it happnd, or gav him a copy of th transcript of th spch with th purpos that it b placd into God s Word. Dspit th fact that th spch in 24 took plac tn yars prior, it was bfitting that it b placd as a ulogy to th grat lif of. It is this viw of th chronology of th final chaptrs of which taks into considration that plac is mntiond in 14:6 18:1 and 24:1, but not in 23:1. If is narly on his dathbd in his homtown and h summons th ldrs of Isral, h (actually, Phinhas) is lss likly to rcord th plac. H didn t go anywhr h simply summond th popl from whr h was. This chronological ordring also allows for this day to b s last day. It would mak most sns that, on his last day, that h rmain at hom, or vry narly hom (in his own city); and what h would say to th ldrs would b brif and to th point. Furthrmor, it would summariz what was most important and what was formost on th mind of. Chaptr 23, in this way, sounds most lik th final words of to his popl. In 24:1 28, w hav no mntion of him bing old, of him going th way of all flsh or vn of an nd to his lif. In fact, what h says in 24:15b: But as for m and my hous, w will srv Jhovah! Ths ar not th words of a man who is about to di. Finally, this spch of s in chaptr 24 is mor rowdy than chaptr 23. In 24, h spaks and thn th popl rspond; h spaks, and thn th popl rspond. This is uncharactristic of a man on his dathbd. Now, I don t know if this is taught in any othr commntary. It was not in th ons which I us, and I bliv that Barns and Kil and Dlitzsch hav two outstanding vrs by vrs commntaris. Howvr, it s immatrial whthr somon taught this bfor that is not an issu that this is th way it is and you can tak that to th bank. In th middl of this vrs with hav th ngativ and th Qal prfct of nâphal ( ) [pronouncd naw-fahl], which mans to fall, to li, to di a violnt dath, to b brought down, to sttl, to slp dply. W had this word back in v. 4. Strong's #5307 BDB #656.

14 Th Book of 589 Latr w hav th Qal prfct of bôw ( ) [pronouncd boh], which mans to com in, to com, to go in, to go. Strong s #935 BDB #97. Th point is obvious ths mn hav all bn witnsss to th fact that God will bring to pass what H has promisd. On of th primary thms of what wrot and said was th fact that God had fulfilld all that H had promisd to Isral. Not on of th good promiss which Jhovah had mad to th hous of Isral faild; all cam to pass ( 21:45). As Jsus said, Point of doctrin: this rac will not pass away until all things tak plac. Havn and arth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Luk 21:32 33). Th ky to th summary of th final statmnt hr of is simpl, although you may hav missd it. Thos haring can tstify that God has fulfilld all that H promisd to thm. Howvr, just as H fulfilld His promiss to Isral for good, H will also fulfill His promiss to Isral for vil. If thy turn from Him, H will turn from thm. Thy cand pnd upon that bcaus His Word is dpndabl. Hr is on plac whr s rasoning is crystal clar to his harrs. It is likly that this is th most succinct and logical from a Paulin standpoint that w vr s. Edrshim: Th scond part of s addrss dwlls upon th absolut crtainly with which judgmnt would follow, as surly as formrly blssing had com. 14 And h is which cam in upon you all th word th good which promisd Y howah your God unto you; so Y howah will bring upon you all th word th vil until His dstroying you [all] from off th ground th good th this which gav to you Y howah your God. 23:15 But it will com to pass that all th good things which Jhovah your God promisd you will com upon you; likwis, Jhovah will bring upon you all th vil things until H has dstroyd you from off this good ground which Jhovah your God gav to you. Bing that this is not th most clarly constructd sntnc in th Hbrw, lt m offr som othr translations: Th Emphasizd Bibl NASB But is shall b that as all th good things hav com unto you, which Yahwh your God spak unto you, so will Yahwh bring upon you all th vil things, until h hath dstroyd you from off this goodly soil, which Yahwh your God hath givn unto you. And it shall com about that just as all th good words which th LORD your God spok to you hav com upon you, so th LORD will bring upon you all th thrats, until H has dstroyd you from off this good land which th LORD your God has givn you. Young's Lit. Translation And it hath bn, as thr hath com upon you all th good thing which Jhovah your God hath spokn unto you, so doth Jhovah bring upon you th whol of this good ground which Jhovah your God hath givn to you;... Th main problm for us is that th vrbs prcd th subjct, and somtims by svral words. W hav th sam vrb twic in this vrs, which hooks up with a subjct somwhat latr in th vrs. Th vrb is th vry common bôw ( ) [pronouncd boh], which mans to com in, to com, to go in, to go. Strong s #935 rd BDB #97. W find it first in th 3 prson masculin singular, Qal prfct; its subjct is all th good word; and rd thn it is found in th 3 prson masculin singular, Hiphil imprfct, and Jhovah is th subjct. On of th latr vrbs at th nd is th Hiphil infinitiv construct of shâmad ( ) [pronouncd shaw-mahd] mans to lay wast, to annihilat, to xtrminat. Strong's #8045 BDB #1029. Quit obviously th Isralits will nvr b compltly annihilatd, as thy play a major part in th nd tims; howvr, th land upon which thy liv will b dvastatd and thy will b scattrd throughout th world. Thy hav two choics; ithr to rciv all of th good which God has for thm or all of th vil. Insofar as th lattr gos, w hav th phras all of th 14 Alfrd Edrshim, Bibl History Old Tstamnt; 1995 by Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; p. 337.