Joshua 23:12

12 for if indeed you turn back and join these remaining nations {among you}, and you intermarry with them, {marrying their women and they yours},

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 of your men put to flight a thousand, for Yahweh your God [is] fighting for you, just as he promised you.

11 Take utmost care for [the sake of] your life to love Yahweh your God,

12 for if indeed you turn back and join these remaining nations {among you}, and you intermarry with them, {marrying their women and they yours},

13 know for certain that Yahweh your God {will not continue to drive out} these nations from before you; they will be for you a snare and a trap, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

14 Look! {I am about to die}, and you know in all your hearts and souls that not one thing {failed} from all the good things that Yahweh your God promised concerning you; everything {has been fulfilled}; {not one thing failed}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "with you"
• [b]. Literally "you go into them and they into you"