Joshua 23:16

Jos 23:16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

Ver. 16. And ye shall perish quickly from off the good land.] This judgment Joshua inculcateth, {Jos 23:13-16} because he knew it would be very grievous to them to forego so goodly a land so lately gotten, and so little a while enjoyed. In the beginning of a speech τα ηθη milder affections suit best; but toward the end thereof τα παθη, saith the orator, passionate and piercing passages. This rule Joshua here observeth, being ex utroque Caesar, no less an orator than a warrior, as hath been already observed.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jos 23:16. Ye shall perish quickly from off the good land — It would aggravate their misery in their destruction, that the land from which they perished was a good land, and a land which God himself had given them: and which therefore he would have secured to them, if they had not thrown themselves out of it. “Thus the goodness of the heavenly Canaan,” says Mr. Henry, “and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will aggravate the misery of those who shall for ever be shut out and perish from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much so as to see how happy they might have been.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He showeth that no evil can come unto man, except he offend God by disobedience.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 16. Ye shall perish quickly from off the good land] The following note from Mr. John Trapp is very judicious: "This judgment Joshua inculcates Jos 23:13; Jos 23:15, and here, because he knew it would be a very grievous thing to them to forego so goodly a land, so lately gotten, and so short a while enjoyed. In the beginning of a speech ταηθη, the milder affections, suit best; but towards the end ταπαθη, passionate and piercing passages; according to the orator. This rule Joshua observes, being Ex utroque Caesar; no less an orator than a warrior."

In all this exhortation we see how closely Joshua copies the example of his great master Moses. See Le 26:7-8; Le 26:14, c. De 28:7; De 32:30. He was tenderly concerned for the welfare of the people, and with a deeply affected heart he spoke to their hearts. No people ever were more fairly and fully warned, and no people profited less by it. The threatenings pronounced here were accomplished in the Babylonish captivity, but more fully in their general dispersion since the crucifixion of our Lord. And should not every Christian fear when he reads, If God spared not the natural branches, take heed that he spare not thee? Surely a worldly, carnal, and godless Christian has no more reason to expect indulgence from the justice of God than a profligate Jew. We have a goodly land, but the justice of God can decree a captivity from it, or a state of bondage in it. The privileges that are abused are thereby forfeited. And this is as applicable to the individual as to the whole system.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) The resemblance between this verse and an exhortation in Deuteronomy should be noticed, Jos_11:16-17, “Take heed to yourselves, lest . . . ye turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; and then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you . . . and ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. ye shall perish] The latter part of this 16th verse occurs word for word in Deu_11:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God,

which he commanded you,.... The law, so called, and the several precepts of it, particularly those which relate to the faith and worship of the one only true God; see Exo 24:7;

and have gone and served other gods, and have bowed down yourselves unto them; been guilty of idolatry, of having and worshipping other gods, which are no gods, with or besides the God of Israel, see Jos 23:7,

then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you; nothing being more provoking to him than idolatry, he being a jealous God of his honour and worship:

and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you; as they did at the time of the Babylonish captivity, and at the last destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

Next: Joshua Chapter 24

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And speedily. This word is added to express the force of the Hebrew term. (Menochius) --- "Punishment is seldom lame in overtaking the wicked. (Haydock) --- This. He emphatically sets before them what labours they had sustained in making the acquisition, and what ingratitude they will be guilty of, if they ever forfeit so great a blessing. (Menochius) --- The treat or prediction was verified during the captivity, and still more after the destruction of Jerusalem. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Transgressed. The English is the precise equivalent of the Hebrew, which signifies to "pass over," with the idea of going beyond bounds which had previously been prescribed in the covenant between God and His people. Other gods. See ver. 7. Here again we have the usual repetition for the sake of emphasis. Ye shall perish quickly. A verbally accurate quotation of Deu_11:17. The original is even more emphaticwith haste.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It will aggravate their perdition, that the land from which they shall perish is a good land, and a land which God himself had given them: and which therefore he would have secured to them, if they had not thrown themselves out of it. "Thus the goodness of the heavenly Canaan, says Mr. Henry, and the free and sure grant God has made of it, will aggravate the misery of those that shall forever be shut out and perish from it. Nothing will make them see how wretched they are, so much as to see, how happy they might have been." Might have been! What on the supposition of absolute decrees? How happy might a person not elected have been? And if he was elected, how could he be wretched for ever? What art of man can reconcile these things? Again, shall any of the elect perish forever? or has God made to any others, a free and sure grant of the heavenly Canaan? If not, how can the misery of those that perish be aggravated, by a free and sure grant which they never had any share in?

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

He will do this

This refers to the punishment threatened in the previous verse.

worship other gods and bow down to them

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second describes how the people "worship other gods." (See: Parallelism)

the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you

"Kindled" here is a metaphor for the beginning of Yahweh's anger, like a fire is "kindled" or started with "kindling" or very easy to start burning like dried grass or small twigs. AT: "Yahweh will begin to be angry with you" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

covenant

worship

anger

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.