In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses speaks to all Israel near the end of his life. He knows he will not cross the Jordan with them. So he tells the people to be strong and courageous, because the LORD goes with them and will not leave them. In verses 7-8 he turns to Joshua and gives him nearly the same words, in front of everyone. The promise belongs to a handoff of leadership, and it points at one specific task: going into the land God had promised.
In short
In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses tells all Israel not to fear the nations ahead of them, because the LORD goes with them.
In verses 7-8, he gives Joshua the same charge in public, since Joshua will lead the people into the land.
The courage rests on God's presence and God's promise. It does not rest on the people's strength or on Joshua's skill.
The verse does not say that every plan you make has God's approval. It does show the kind of God Israel trusted.
What does Deuteronomy 31:6 mean?
On its own, the verse reads like a general word of comfort. With the verses before it, it has a clear setting. In Deuteronomy 31:2, Moses says he is 120 years old and that the LORD has told him he will not cross the Jordan. In verse 3, he tells the people that the LORD himself will cross ahead of them, and that Joshua will go at their head. Verses 4 and 5 remind them of Sihon and Og, two kings they had already faced.
6Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
So the people Israel should not dread are the nations Moses has named in verses 3 to 5. In Hebrew, the "you" in this verse is plural. Moses speaks to the whole people, not to one person.
Look at the reason he gives. He does not tell them they are strong enough. He tells them the LORD goes with them and will not leave or forsake them. Courage here answers a promise. The people still have to walk into the land. They do not walk in alone.
Why does Moses say this at the end of his life?
Deuteronomy presents itself as Moses' last words to Israel on the plains of Moab, before the crossing. The man who led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness is about to step aside. A change like that can unsettle anyone. People wonder who will decide things now, and whether the new leader is up to it.
Moses answers that worry by pointing away from himself. In 31:3, before he even names Joshua, he says the LORD will go over before them. Israel's safety never depended on Moses. It depended on the God who sent him, and that God is not retiring.
That order matters for reading verse 6. The promise does not say that a good leader will keep the people safe. It says God goes with them, whoever stands at the front.
What changes when Moses turns to Joshua in verses 7-8?
Right after speaking to the people, Moses calls Joshua forward. He does it in the sight of all Israel, so everyone sees the charge pass to the next leader.
7Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it.
8It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
The words sound almost the same as verse 6, but now Moses speaks to one man. Joshua also gets a job description. He will go with the people into the land sworn to their fathers, and he will put them in possession of it (31:7). Joshua did not dream up this task. God gave it, and Moses names it out loud.
Verse 8 adds a small but real detail. The LORD goes before Joshua and will be with him. God goes ahead to where Joshua is headed, and he stays beside Joshua on the way there.
The charge comes back again. In 31:14-15 the LORD calls Moses and Joshua to the tent of meeting, and in 31:23 the LORD himself tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. After Moses dies, Joshua 1:5-9 repeats it a third time. You can read that later scene in what Joshua 1:9 means. The repetition makes sense. A new leader facing a hard task needs to hear more than once that God has not changed.
Does this promise cover everything you set out to do?
People often write this verse on cards for a new job, a move, or a graduation. Taking comfort from it is fine. But read it with care. In the text, the promise comes with a task God had already given: taking the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If you read verse 6 as God's stamp on any plan we choose, you flip the order. In Deuteronomy 31, God's word comes first, and courage follows it.
The New Testament does reach back to this kind of promise. Hebrews 13:5 tells readers to stay free from the love of money and be content, because God has said he will never leave or forsake them. That passage carries the promise to Christian readers. It applies it to contentment, though, not to success. The same pattern shows up in what Isaiah 41:10 means: a word spoken to Israel first, then read by Christians as a word about God's character.
How can you read Deuteronomy 31:6 today?
Start by reading the paragraph, not the single line. Deuteronomy 31:1-8 takes a few minutes. Then work through a few questions:
- Who is speaking, and who is listening? In verse 6 it is Moses and all Israel. In verses 7-8 it is Moses and Joshua.
- What task is in view? Crossing the Jordan and settling in the land God had promised.
- What does the courage rest on? On the LORD going with them and going before them.
- What carries over to you? God's faithfulness to his people carries over. A guarantee about your own plans does not.
That last question keeps the verse honest. It does not tell you that your venture will succeed. It does tell you something you can lean on: the God of this passage does not abandon his people when leaders change.
If you like this way of reading, the guide to Bible verse context walks through it step by step. For another promise people often quote without its setting, see what Jeremiah 29:11 means.