Deuteronomy 31:7

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, "Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he'd give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it.

Deuteronomy 31:7 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 31:7

And Moses called unto Joshua
Who might be at some distance from him, with the tribe to which he belonged. The Targum of Jonathan adds,

``out of the midst of the people:''

and said unto him, in the sight of all Israel;
now assembled together, and what follows was said in their hearing, to make him the more respectable to them:

be strong and of a good courage;
the same that is said to the people in ( Deuteronomy 31:6 ) , and which was still more necessary in him, who was to be their general, and to go at the head of them, and lead them on to battle; and though Joshua was a man of courage and valour, as well as had military skill, as appears by his fight with Amalek, ( Exodus 17:9-13 ) ; yet such an exhortation was not needless, seeing he had so much work to do, and so many enemies to contend with:

for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath
sworn unto their fathers to give them, and thou shalt cause them to
inherit it;
the Targum of Jonathan is,

``which the Word of the Lord hath sworn to give;''

the land of Canaan, thither he must go with them; this was the will and determination of God, and he must go alone without him, Moses, which would be a trial of his courage.

Deuteronomy 31:7 In-Context

5 God will hand the nations over to you, and you'll treat them exactly as I have commanded you.
6 "Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, "Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he'd give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it.
8 God is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you. Don't be intimidated. Don't worry."
9 Moses wrote out this Revelation and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Chest of the Covenant of God, and to all the leaders of Israel.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.