Passage
He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.”
Deuteronomy 31:23 (WEB)
Nearby Context
Deuteronomy 31:21 It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their ways and what they are doing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
Deuteronomy 31:22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.
Deuteronomy 31:23 He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.”
Deuteronomy 31:24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
Deuteronomy 31:25 Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, saying,
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "commissioned", "joshua", "said", "strong", "courageous", "shall", "bring", and "children". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "commissioned" 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 "When Moses had finished writing the words...", so "commissioned" 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 "commissioned" and "joshua" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.