⁶“Be strong. You must be careful to obey everything commanded in the Book of the Teachings of Moses. Do not stray from it either from the left or the right. ⁷Don’t become friends with the people living among us who are not Israelites. Don’t say the names of their gods or make anyone swear by them. Don’t serve or worship them. ⁸You must continue to follow the Lord your God, as you have done in the past.

⁹“The Lord has forced many great and powerful nations to leave ahead of you. No nation has been able to defeat you. ¹⁰With his help, one Israelite could defeat a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do. ¹¹So you must be careful to love the Lord your God.

¹²“If you turn away from the way of the Lord and become friends with these people who are not part of Israel and marry them, ¹³the Lord your God will not help you defeat your enemies. They will be like traps for you, like whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, and none of you will be left in this good land the Lord your God has given you.

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Joshua 23:8: but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day.