New International Version
Joshua 24:21
21But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the Lord."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
Context of Joshua 24:21
19Joshua 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. 20If 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.” But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.” 22Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. 23“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
Read all of Joshua 24Joshua 24:21 word by word
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הָעָ֖ם אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ לֹ֕א כִּ֥י אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה נַעֲבֹֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joshua 24:21
- Exodus 19:8The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
- Exodus 20:19and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
- Exodus 24:3When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”
- Deuteronomy 5:27Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”
- Deuteronomy 26:17You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.
- Isaiah 44:5Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.
Commentaries on Joshua 24:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21And the people said - Nay; but we will serve, etc. - So they understood the words of Joshua to imply no moral impossibility on their side: and had they earnestly sought the gracious assistance of God, they would have continued steady in his covenant.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. 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 24:21
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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