Deuteronomy 31:23 (ASV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 31:21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

Deuteronomy 31:22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

Deuteronomy 31:24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

Deuteronomy 31:25 that Moses commanded the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gave", "joshua", "charge", "said", "strong", "good", "courage", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gave" and "joshua", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "So Moses wrote this song the same..." into verse 24's "And it came to pass when Moses...", so "gave" and "joshua" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "gave" and "joshua" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.