Yehoshua 23:12

12 Else if ye do in anywise turn back, and have deveykus unto the remnant of these Goyim, even these that remain among you, and shall intermarry with them, associate with them, and they with you;

Yehoshua 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,

Yehoshua 23:12 In-Context

10 Ish echad of you shall chase eleph; for Hashem Eloheichem, He it is that fighteth for you, just as He hath promised you.

11 Be shomer me’od therefore unto yourselves, that ye love Hashem Eloheichem.

12 Else if ye do in anywise turn back, and have deveykus unto the remnant of these Goyim, even these that remain among you, and shall intermarry with them, associate with them, and they with you;

13 Have da’as for a certainty that Hashem Eloheichem will no more drive out any of these Goyim from before you; but they shall be pach (snares) and mokesh (traps) unto you, and shot (scourges) on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this adamah hatovah which Hashem Eloheichem hath given you.

14 And, hinei, now I am going the derech kol ha’aretz; and ye know in all your hearts and in all your nefashot, that not one thing hath failed of all the devarim hatovim which Hashem Eloheichem promised concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.