Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but 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 the LORD your God hath given you.
Know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out any of these nations ahead of you. Instead, they will become traps and snares for you, whips that strike your sides, and thorns that pierce your eyes, until you are destroyed from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
Joshua is warning that if Israel disobeys God, He will stop helping them defeat their enemies, and those enemies will become a source of constant trouble that will eventually destroy them.
📚 Historical Context
Joshua is giving his farewell address to the Israelites after they had conquered much of the Promised Land. He's specifically warning them about what will happen if they intermarry with the remaining Canaanite nations and worship their gods, breaking their covenant with the LORD. This was a real and present danger since many pagan peoples still lived among them in the land.
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