Joshua 23:12

12 For if ye in any wise go back, and cleave unto the residue of these nations, these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and come in unto them and they unto you:

Joshua 23:12 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 23:12

Else if ye do in any wise go back
From the Lord and his worship, from his word and ordinances:

and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, [even] those that remain
among you;
in cities not taken, or in several which the Philistines were in possession of, or lived among them as tributaries to them, if they should take to them, and be free and familiar with them, which may lead on to nearer connections in civil and religious matters:

and shall make marriages with them;
marry their daughters to the sons of Canaanites, or admit the daughters of Canaanites to be married to their sons:

and go in unto them, and they to you;
which is expressive of the consummation of marriage, and of the performance of the conjugal duty,

Joshua 23:12 In-Context

10 One man of you chaseth a thousand; for Jehovah your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath said unto you.

11 Take great heed therefore unto your souls, that ye love Jehovah your God.

12 For if ye in any wise go back, and cleave unto the residue of these nations, these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and come in unto them and they unto you:

13 know for a certainty that Jehovah your God will no more dispossess these nations from before you, and they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which Jehovah your God hath given you.

14 And behold, I am going this day the way of all the earth; and ye know in all your heart, and in all your soul, that not one thing hath failed of all the good words that Jehovah your God hath spoken concerning you: all are come to pass unto you -- not one thing hath failed thereof