And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

And the Lord commanded Josue the son of Nun, and said: Take courage, and be valiant: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with thee.

And Jehovah commanded Joshua the son of Nun, and said, Be strong and courageous; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have sworn unto them; and I will be with thee.

And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them: and I will be with thee.

and He commandeth Joshua son of Nun, and saith, 'Be strong and courageous, for thou dost bring in the sons of Israel unto the land which I have sworn to them, and I, I am with thee.'

Then he gave orders to Joshua, the son of Nun, saying to him, Be strong and take heart: for you are to go at the head of the children of Israel into the land which I made an oath to give them; and I will be with you.

And the Lord instructed Joshua, the son of Nun, and he said: "Be strong and valiant. For you shall lead the sons of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with you."

Dein praecepit Josuae filio Nun, ac dixit, Fortis esto, et roborare, quia tu introduces filios Israel in terram de qua juravi eis: et ego ero tecum.

And he gave Joshua the son of Nul, a charge. The more difficult was the task of Joshua, the more needful was it that he should be encouraged to exert himself, and to beware of failure. For this reason his charge is repeated, although in his person all the others were at the same time confirmed. Moses grounds it on the promise of God, which has been so often mentioned; and says that Joshua had been chosen to complete the work of deliverance already begun; for it was hardly credible that the disciple should be not only superior to his master, but that a man of humble position should be elevated to the dignity from which the sovereign Prophet, and God's chief minister, had been degraded, unless this was done by the decree and ordinance of God. At the same time, however, he makes him more confident of the result of his calling, by promising him that God, who was the mover of this expedition, would be with him; for He has the power to accomplish every work to which He has appointed any one of us.

He gave - i. e., the Lord gave.

And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge,.... It may be a question who gave this charge, the Lord or Moses; according to the connection of the words with the preceding, it seems to be the latter; for the immediate antecedent to the relative he is Moses, and so the Septuagint interpreters understand it; but then they are obliged to read some following clauses different from the original, as, instead of "I swear", they read "the Lord sware"; and the last clause they read, "and he shall be with thee"; but Aben Ezra gives the same sense without departing from the common and genuine reading, supposing that Moses gave the charge in the name and by the authority of the Lord; his words are,"he gave charge by the commandment of the Lord, therefore he saith, "which I sware unto them";''but it seems best to understand this of the Lord himself, since he ordered Moses and Joshua to present themselves before him, that he might give the latter a charge, Deuteronomy 31:14; and the language of the following clauses best agrees with him:
and said, be strong and of a good courage; See Gill on Deuteronomy 31:6; See Gill on Deuteronomy 31:7,
for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them; See Gill on Deuteronomy 31:7;
and I will be with thee; See Gill on Deuteronomy 31:8; the Targum of Jonathan is,"my Word shall be thy help.''

The solemn delivery of the book of the law to the Levites, to be deposited in, or rather by the side, of the ark, is again related. The song which follows in the next chapter is delivered to Moses, and by him to the people. He wrote it first, as the Holy Spirit taught him; and then spake it in the hearing of all the people. Moses tells them plainly, I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves. Many a sad thought, no doubt, it occasioned to this good man; but his comfort was, that he had done his duty, and that God would be glorified in their dispersion, if not in their settlement, for the foundation of God stands sure.