Christian Standard Bible
Joshua 24:20
20If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after he has been good to you.”
Joshua 24:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
- New International Version (NIV)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good."
- New King James Version (NKJV)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”
Context of Joshua 24:20
18The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because he is our God.” 19But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and sins. If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after he has been good to you.” 21“No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.” 22Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.” “We are witnesses,” they said.
Read all of Joshua 24Joshua 24:20 word by word
כִּ֤י תַֽעַזְבוּ֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֖ם אֱלֹהֵ֣י נֵכָ֑ר וְשָׁ֨ב וְהֵרַ֤ע לָכֶם֙ וְכִלָּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֔ם אַחֲרֵ֖י אֲשֶׁר־הֵיטִ֥יב לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- If ye forsakeעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
- strangeנֵכָרnêkâr · foreignH5236
- godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- then he will turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
- and do you hurtרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
- and consumeכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- you, afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- that he hath done you goodיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
Cross-references for Joshua 24:20
- Joshua 23:12If you ever turn away and become loyal to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you,
- 1 Chronicles 28:9“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
- Ezra 8:22I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.”
- Isaiah 1:28At the same time both rebels and sinners will be broken, and those who abandon the Lord will perish.
- Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.
- Isaiah 65:11But you who abandon the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
- Jeremiah 17:13Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon you will be put to shame. All who turn away from me will be written in the dirt, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
- Ezekiel 18:24But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
- Acts 7:42God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: House of Israel, did you bring me offerings and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness?
- Hebrews 10:26For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Commentaries on Joshua 24:20
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-28Verses 15-28 It is essential that the service of God's people be performed with a willing mind. For LOVE is the only genuine principle whence all acceptable service of God can spring. The Father seeks only such to worship him, as worship him in spirit and in truth. The carnal mind of man is enmity against God, therefore, is not capable of such spiritual worship. Hence the necessity of being born again. But numbers rest in mere forms, as tasks imposed upon…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-24Joshua challenged the Israelites from another perspective to show how serious their commitment needed to be. He wanted to make sure they were not responding only out of excitement in the moment.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-2814-28. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth--After having enumerated so many grounds for national gratitude, Joshua calls on them to declare, in a public and solemn manner, whether they will be faithful and obedient to the God of Israel. He avowed this to be his own unalterable resolution, and urged them, if they were sincere in making a similar avowal, "to put away the strange gods that were among them"--a requirement…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 24:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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