Joshua 24:20

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

18It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.” 19Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.” 21But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” 22“You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”

Joshua 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 23:12“But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,
• 1 Chronicles 28:9“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
• 2 Chronicles 15:2and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
• Ezra 8:22For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.”
• Isaiah 1:28But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will be consumed.
• Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.
• Isaiah 65:11“But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord and have forgotten his Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
• Jeremiah 17:13O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
• Ezekiel 18:24However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
• Acts 7:42Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
• Hebrews 10:26Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these 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

• Backsliders
• Covenant
• Decision
• Shechem

In the dictionaries

• Strange Gods
• Joshua
• Serve
• Apostasy; Apostate
• Covenant, in the Old Testament
• Gods
• Hurt
• Joshua, Book of
• forgive, forgiven, forgiveness, pardon, pardoned

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