Berean Standard Bible
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
King James Version
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
About this verse
Two commands and one reason: "Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you." The verb of the reason is worth pausing on — goes with you, moving language. This is not a promise that God waits somewhere safe while you advance; the presence travels at your pace, into the territory that frightens you. And the closing line doubles itself for emphasis: "He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Moses speaks these words to Israel on the plains of Moab, at a hundred and twenty years old, with the Jordan River in view. The poignancy is that he is giving the people a promise he will not personally accompany: Moses himself will not cross. The next generation must go on without the only leader they have known — and the speech's answer is that their real constant was never Moses. Centuries later, the letter to the Hebrews is still quoting this pledge.
This is a verse for facing what's next without the person who got you here — after the mentor retires, the parent dies, the founder moves on. The courage it commands rests on accompaniment, not capability, and the accompaniment does not change hands.
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