What Does Joshua 1:9 Mean?
Did I not command you? Hold fast and be firm. Do not tremble, and do not be shattered, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.THE KEY
The command to stand firm is grounded in this: God accompanies you wherever your path goes.
THE MEANING
You are called to stand firm and move forward with courage because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Fear and dismay do not mean you are alone on the path.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that fear means God is absent dissolves here: his presence is the reason courage is possible.
THE ROOT
חֲזַק
ḥăzaq
GROWS FROM
חזק
ḥ-z-q
be strong, prevail; make firm
“hold fast” in this verse is ḥăzaq. This root also carries the sense of taking hold and holding firm. The verse pairs firmness with courage, then grounds both in the assurance that God is with you.
ALSO GROWS
ḥāzāq: strong, mighty
חָזָק
The adjective shows the quality named by the command: strength that can hold its ground.
heḥĕzîq: take hold of, hold firmly
הֶחֱזִיק
This branch brings out the grasp within the root, echoing a steadiness that does not let go when the way feels uncertain.
וֶאֱמָץ
ve’emats
GROWS FROM
אמץ
ʾ-m-ṣ
be firm, resolute, courageous
“be firm” in this verse is ve’emats. The word carries the sense of firmness and resolve, not simply a feeling of confidence. Beside חזק (ḥ-z-q), “be strong,” it gives courage a steady, grounded quality.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāmēṣ: firm, resolute, courageous
אָמֵץ
This form shows courage as inner firmness rather than the absence of difficulty.
ʾimmēṣ: strengthen, make firm
אִמֵּץ
This verb form connects resolve with being strengthened, deepening the verse’s pairing of courage and firmness.
תֵּחָת
teḥat
GROWS FROM
חתת
ḥ-t-t
be shattered, broken down, terrified
“be shattered” in this verse is teḥat. The Hebrew behind “dismayed” carries the force of being shattered or broken down. The verse speaks into that possibility and places its command beside a concrete assurance: the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
ALSO GROWS
ḥittēt: shatter, break down, terrify
חִתֵּת
This form makes clear the force of the collapse the verse tells you not to surrender to.
meḥittāh: terror, ruin, destruction
מְחִתָּה
This noun shows how the root can name both the dread and the devastation associated with being shattered.
THE PATTERN
Scripture grounds courage in God’s accompanying presence, even when the path runs through danger.
Hold fast and be firm. Do not fear, and do not quake before them. For the LORD your God is the one who walks with you. He will not release you, nor leave you.Even though I walk through the valley of deepest darkness, I do not fear harm, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.Teaching them to guard all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age. Amen.THE THREAD
And the LORD is the one who goes before your face. He will be with you. He will not release you, nor leave you. Do not fear, and do not be shattered.The Hebrew word translated “dismayed” here comes from the same root, חתת (ḥ-t-t), meaning “to be shattered or broken down.” This verse adds that the LORD goes before you, stays with you, and does not forsake you.
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