But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Joshua 22:5)
Literally, “only watch you exceedingly.” The statements in this verse are very similar in content to the statements found in Deut. 6:5; 10:12; 11:13, 22; 30:6, 16, 20; etc., indicating that these words were already recorded, so that Joshua had access to them. He had become so familiar with them that when he spoke he was using almost the same words as his predecessor, Moses. Joshua dismissed the two and a half tribes with words of spiritual counsel and warning. In strict obedience to all the commandments of God lay their only safety.
Cleave unto him.
The Hebrew word here translated “cleave” is rendered “stuck” in Ps. 119:31. It carries with it the idea of firmness, that is, “to stick firmly.”