New King James Version
Joshua 24:21
21And the people said to Joshua, “No, but 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.
- New International Version (NIV)But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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
19But 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. 20If 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.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!” 22So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” 23“Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord 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 19:8Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
- Exodus 20:19Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
- Exodus 24:3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do.”
- Deuteronomy 5:27You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
- Deuteronomy 26:17Today you have proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice.
- Isaiah 44:5One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ And name himself by the name of 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries