Joshua 1:14 (LSB)

Passage

Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them

Nearby Context

Joshua 1:12 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,

Joshua 1:13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, saying, ‘Yahweh your God gives you rest and will give you this land.’

Joshua 1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them

Joshua 1:15 until Yahweh gives your brothers rest as He gives you, and they also possess the land which Yahweh your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and possess it, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise.”

Joshua 1:16 And they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wives", "little", "ones", "cattle", "shall", "remain", "land", and "moses". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wives" and "little", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Remember the word which Moses the servant..." into verse 15's "until Yahweh gives your brothers rest as...", so "wives" and "little" 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 "wives" and "little" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.