Joshua 1:8 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Joshua 1:8 reads: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." — from the Old Testament, Joshua (Historical narrative). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Joshua 1:8 is in the book of Joshua, traditionally attributed to Joshua (substantially) and written around c. 1400 BC. Joshua is historical narrative in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Israel after the conquest. Best known for the fall of Jericho and "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD".

Joshua 1:8 is primarily a Bible verse about Wisdom. Within Joshua, Joshua records Israel's entry into the Promised Land — the Jordan crossing, the fall of Jericho, the campaigns of conquest, and the allotment of tribal territories. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Joshua 1:8 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "This book5612 of the law8451 shall not depart4185 out of thy mouth6310; but thou shalt meditate1897 therein day3119 and night3915, that thou mayest observe8104 to do6213 according to all that is written3789 therein: for then thou shalt make6743 thy way1870 prosperous6743, and then thou shalt have good success7919. have: or, do wisely". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Joshua 1:8 is 49 words in the WEB translation (248 characters), broken into 5 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 15 seconds.

To memorise Joshua 1:8, split it into its 5 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Joshua records Israel's entry into the Promised Land — the Jordan crossing, the fall of Jericho, the campaigns of conquest, and the allotment of tribal territories. It is bookended by God's charge to "be strong and courageous" (1:9) and Joshua's closing call: "Choose this day whom you will serve" (24:15). Joshua 1:8 sits within this larger story — Joshua as a whole emphasises conquest, faithfulness, inheritance.

Many readers use Joshua 1:8 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Joshua 1:8 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.