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Joshua 1:8 KJV
Joshua · chapter 1 · verse 8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.Joshua 1:8 · King James Version
What Joshua 1:8 means
Mouth first, then meditation, then doing. Joshua was handed this as he took command of a nation going to war, which makes it a strange instruction. The prosperity promised at the end is tied to the whole sequence rather than to the reading on its own.
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Joshua 1:8 in context
6Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
Commentary
Cross references
- Psalms 119:15
- Psalms 19:14
- Colossians 3:16
- Proverbs 3:1
- Deuteronomy 29:9
- John 14:21
- Luke 11:28
- Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Key words (Strong's)
- meditatehâgâhto murmurH1897 →
- observeshâmarproperly, to hedge aboutH8104 →
- writtenkâthabto grave, by implication, to writeH3789 →
- departmûwshto withdrawH4185 →
- mouthpehthe mouth , whether literal or figurativeH6310 →
- nightlayilproperly, a twistH3915 →
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Honour is here put upon Joshua, and great power lodged in his hand, by him that is the fountain of honour and power, and by whom kings reign. Instructions are given him by Infinite Wisdom, and encouragements by the God of all consolation.
— Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on verses 1-9