Joshua 1:14 (GNV)

Passage

Your wiues, your children, and your cattell shall remaine in the land which Moses gaue you on this side Iorden: but ye shall goe ouer before your brethren armed, all that be men of warre, and shall helpe them,

Nearby Context

Joshua 1:12 And vnto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to halfe the tribe of Manasseh spake Ioshua, saying,

Joshua 1:13 Remember the worde, which Moses the seruant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath giuen you rest, and hath giuen you this land.

Joshua 1:14 Your wiues, your children, and your cattell shall remaine in the land which Moses gaue you on this side Iorden: but ye shall goe ouer before your brethren armed, all that be men of warre, and shall helpe them,

Joshua 1:15 Vntill the Lord haue giuen your brethren rest, as well as to you, and vntill they also shall possesse the land, which the Lord your God giueth them: then shall ye returne vnto the lande of your possession and shall possesse it, which land Moses the Lordes seruant gaue you on this side Iorden toward the sunne rising.

Joshua 1:16 Then they answered Ioshua, saying, Al that thou hast commanded vs, we will doe, and whithersoeuer thou sendest vs, we will goe.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wiues", "children", "cattell", "shall", "remaine", "land", "moses", and "gaue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wiues" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Remember the worde which Moses the seruant..." into verse 15's "Vntill the Lord haue giuen your brethren...", so "wiues" and "children" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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