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

18And Yhwh drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve Yhwh; for he is our God. 19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Yhwh: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake Yhwh, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Yhwh. 22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Yhwh, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

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

• If ye forsakeעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
• Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · 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 23:12Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
• 1 Chronicles 28:9And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for Yhwh searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
• 2 Chronicles 15:2And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Yhwh is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
• Ezra 8:22For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
• Isaiah 1:28And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake Yhwh shall be consumed.
• Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
• Isaiah 65:11But ye are they that forsake Yhwh, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
• Jeremiah 17:13O Yhwh, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Yhwh, the fountain of living waters.
• Ezekiel 18:24But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
• Acts 7:42Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
• Hebrews 10:26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for 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