Joshua 1:5 (GNV)

Passage

There shall not a man be able to withstande thee all the dayes of thy life: as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not leaue thee, nor forsake thee.

Nearby Context

Joshua 1:3 Euery place that the sole of your foote shall treade vpon, haue I giuen you, as I said vnto Moses.

Joshua 1:4 From the wildernesse and this Lebanon euen vnto the great riuer, the riuer Perath: all the land of the Hittites, euen vnto the great Sea towarde the going downe of the sunne, shalbe your coast.

Joshua 1:5 There shall not a man be able to withstande thee all the dayes of thy life: as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not leaue thee, nor forsake thee.

Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for vnto this people shalt thou deuide the lande for an inheritance, which I sware vnto their fathers to giue them.

Joshua 1:7 Onely be thou strong, and of a most valiant courage, that thou mayest obserue and doe according to all the Lawe which Moses my seruant hath commanded thee: thou shalt not turne away from it to the right hande, nor to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoeuer thou goest.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "able", "withstande", "thee", "dayes", "life", and "moses". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "able", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "From the wildernesse and this Lebanon euen..." into verse 6's "Be strong and of a good courage...", so "shall" and "able" 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 "shall" and "able" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.