New Living Translation
Joshua 24:2
2Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.
Joshua 24:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
- New International Version (NIV)Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.
Context of Joshua 24:2
1Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God. Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods. 3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. 4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
Read all of Joshua 24Joshua 24:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָ֗ם כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָה֮ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ בְּעֵ֣בֶר הַנָּהָ֗ר יָשְׁב֤וּ אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ מֵֽעוֹלָ֔ם תֶּ֛רַח אֲבִ֥י אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַאֲבִ֣י נָח֑וֹר וַיַּעַבְד֖וּ אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- Your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- on the other sideעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
- of the floodנָהָרnâhâr · RiverH5104
- in old timeעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: antiquityH5769
- Terahתֶּ֫רַחterach · TerahH8646
- of Abrahamאַבְרָהָם'abrâhâm · AbrahamH85
- of Nachorנָחוֹרnâchôr · NahorH5152
- and they servedעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
- otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
Cross-references for Joshua 24:2
- Genesis 11:26After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
- Genesis 12:1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
- Genesis 31:53I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line.
- Deuteronomy 26:5“You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation.
- Isaiah 51:2Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”
- Ezekiel 16:3Give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
- Joshua 24:15But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
- Genesis 31:19At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father’s household idols and took them with her.
- Genesis 35:4So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem.
Commentaries on Joshua 24:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2On the other side of the flood - The river Euphrates. They served other gods - Probably Abraham as well as Terah his father was an idolater, till he received the call of God to leave that land. See on Genesis 11:31; (note); Genesis 12:1; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The other side of the flood - Better “On the other side of the river,” i. e. the Euphrates. See the marginal reference. They served other gods - Possibly the “images,” or teraphim, which we find their ancestor Laban calling “his gods” (see the marginal reference); and of which it would seem that there were, as Joshua spoke, some secret devotees among the people Joshua 24:14, Joshua 24:25. It is not stated that Abraham himself was an idolater, though his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Terah: See Genesis 11:27–32.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-132. Joshua said unto all the people--His address briefly recapitulated the principal proofs of the divine goodness to Israel from the call of Abraham to their happy establishment in the land of promise; it showed them that they were indebted for their national existence as well as their peculiar privileges, not to any merits of their own, but to the free grace of God. Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood--The Euphrates, namely, at Ur. Terah…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 24:2
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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