Joshua 24:19

Joshua 24:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
• New International Version (NIV)Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

Context of Joshua 24:19

17We and our fathers were slaves in Egypt. But the Lord our God brought us out from there. We saw the great miracles that he did there. He kept us safe all the time on our journey, as we travelled through other nations. 18The Lord chased all the nations out as we moved into the land. He chased out the Amorites and the other people who lived in the land. So we too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.’ Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord is a holy God. You will not be able to serve him. He wants you to belong to him. If you turn against him or you do not obey him, he will not forgive you. 20If you turn away from the Lord and you serve foreign gods, he will turn against you. He has been kind and he has helped you until now. But he will bring trouble to you and he will destroy you, if you turn away from him.’ 21The people said to Joshua, ‘Never! We will only serve the Lord.’

Joshua 24:19 word by word

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַ אֶל־הָעָ֗ם לֹ֤א תֽוּכְלוּ֙ לַעֲבֹ֣ד אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה כִּֽי־אֱלֹהִ֥ים קְדֹשִׁ֖ים ה֑וּא אֵֽל־קַנּ֣וֹא ה֔וּא לֹֽא־יִשָּׂ֥א לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֖ם וּלְחַטֹּאותֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• Ye cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• an holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• a jealousקַנּוֹאqannô' · jealousH7072
• Godאֵל'êl · GodH410
• he will not forgiveנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: forgiveH5375
• your transgressionsפֶּ֫שַׁעpesha‛ · transgressionH6588
• nor your sinsחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403

Cross-references for Joshua 24:19

• Joshua 24:23Joshua said, ‘So now you must throw away the foreign gods that you still keep. Trust the Lord, Israel's God, and obey him.’
• Ruth 1:15Naomi said to Ruth, ‘Look! Orpah has returned to her family. She has returned to serve the gods of Moab. Go back home with her.’
• Matthew 6:24Jesus said, ‘Nobody can work as a slave for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other master. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.
• Luke 14:25Crowds of many people were travelling with Jesus on his journey. So he turned and said to them,
• Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord said, “People may come near to me. But those people must see that I am holy. All the people must give honour to me.” ’ Aaron did not reply.
• Leviticus 19:2‘Speak to Israel's people. They must be holy because I am holy. You must tell them that.
• 1 Samuel 6:20The people of Beth Shemesh said, ‘The Lord is a holy God! Nobody can go near to him! We must send his Covenant Box away from us. But who can ever take care of it?’
• Psalms 99:5Praise the Lord our God! Worship him as king. He is holy!
• Isaiah 5:16But the Lord Almighty will be lifted up high by his justice. People will know that he is holy when he comes as judge.
• Isaiah 6:3The seraphs called out to one another. They said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is full of his great glory.’
• Isaiah 30:11Leave this path. Get out of our way! Stop telling us about the Holy God of Israel.’
• Habakkuk 1:12Lord, you have always been God, since the beginning. You are the God that I worship as holy, and you will never die. Lord, you have chosen the Babylonians as your weapon to punish your people. You are a strong rock to protect us, but you have decided to use them to punish us.
• Exodus 20:5You must not bend down your head to any idol or worship it. I am the Lord your God and I want you to belong to me alone. I will punish children because of the bad things that their fathers have done. I will also punish their children and their grandchildren too. That is how I will punish everyone who turns against me.
• Exodus 34:14Do not worship any other god instead of me. I am the Lord and I want you to belong to me alone.
• 1 Corinthians 10:20But the people who offer food to idols are worshipping demons. They are not worshipping God when they do that. I do not want you to share in what they do to worship demons.
• Exodus 23:21Be careful to obey him. Listen to what he says to you. Do not turn against him. If you do that, he will not forgive you. I have given him my authority.

Commentaries on Joshua 24:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is a holy God - If we are to take this literally, we cannot blame the Israelites for their defection from the worship of the true God; for if it was impossible for them to serve God, they could not but come short of his kingdom: but surely this was not the case. Instead of תוכלו לא lo thuchelu, ye Cannot serve, etc., some eminent critics read תכלו לא lo thechallu, ye shall not Cease to serve, etc. This is a very ingenious…Read the comment
• 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. 19He is a holy God: See “God’s Absolute Holiness” Theme Note. He is a jealous God: He created every human to have a relationship with him.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 24:19

• Covenant
• Decision
• God Continued...
• Shechem

In the dictionaries

• God
• Joshua
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Atonement
• Serve
• Apostasy; Apostate
• Covenant, in the Old Testament
• Forgiveness
• Joshua, Book of
• Sanctification

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