Joshua 24

Joshua · Chapter 24

Joshua 24:20

1And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.2And 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.3And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.4And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.5I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.6And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.7And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.8And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:10But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.11And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.12And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.13And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.14Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.16And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;17For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:18And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.20If 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.21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.23Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.24And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.28So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.29And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.31And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.32And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
20If 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.If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
ifכִּ֤יkiH3588A
for

כִּי (ki) 1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since 1a) that 1a1) yea, indeed 1b) when (of time) 1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force) 1c) because, since (causal connection) 1d) but (after negative) 1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if 1f) but rather, but 1g) except that 1h) only, nevertheless 1i) surely 1j) that is 1k) but if 1l) for though 1m) forasmuch as, for therefore

you will forsakeתַֽעַזְבוּ֙ta-'az-VUH5800A
to leave: forsake

עָזַב (a.zav) 1) to leave, loose, forsake 1a) (Qal) to leave 1a1) to depart from, leave behind, leave, let alone 1a2) to leave, abandon, forsake, neglect, apostatise 1a3) to let loose, set free, let go, free 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be left to 1b2) to be forsaken 1c) (Pual) to be deserted

Yahwehיְהוָ֔הYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

and you will serveוַעֲבַדְתֶּ֖םva-'a-vad-TEMH5647H
to serve

עָבַד (a.vad) : serve[someone] 1) to work, serve 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to labour, work, do work 1a2) to work for another, serve another by labour 1a3) to serve as subjects 1a4) to serve (God) 1a5) to serve (with Levitical service) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be worked, be tilled (of land) 1b2) to make oneself a servant 1c) (Pual) to be worked 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to compel to labour or work, cause to labour, cause to serve 1d2) to cause to serve as subjects 1e) (Hophal) to be led or enticed to serve

gods ofאֱלֹהֵ֣י'e-lo-HEIH0430J
God

אֱלֹהִים (e.lo.him) This name means "gods" (plural intensive-singular meaning), "God" Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

foreignnessנֵכָ֑רne-KHARH5236
foreign

נֵכָר (ne.khar) 1) foreign, alien, foreignness, that which is foreign 1a) foreignness, foreign gods 1b) alien, foreigner 1c) foreign (vanities)

and he will turnוְשָׁ֨בve-SHAVH7725I
to return: return

שׁוּב (shuv) : return 1) to return, turn back 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to turn back, return 1a1a) to turn back 1a1b) to return, come or go back 1a1c) to return unto, go back, come back 1a1d) of dying 1a1e) of human relations (fig) 1a1f) of spiritual relations (fig) 1a1f1) to turn back (from God), apostatise 1a1f2) to turn away (of God) 1a1f3) to turn back (to God), repent 1a1f4) turn back (from evil) 1a1g) of inanimate things 1a1h) in repetition 1b) (Polel) 1b1) to bring back 1b2) to restore, refresh, repair (fig) 1b3) to lead away (enticingly) 1b4) to show turning, apostatise 1c) (Pual) restored (participle) …

and he will do harmוְהֵרַ֤עve-he-RA'H7489A
be evil

רָעַע (ra.a) 1) to be bad, be evil 1a)(Qal) 1a1) to be displeasing 1a2) to be sad 1a3) to be injurious, be evil 1a4) to be wicked, be evil (ethically) 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to do an injury or hurt 1b2) to do evil or wickedly 1b3) mischief (participle)

and he will make an end ofוְכִלָּ֣הve-khi-LAHH3615H
to end: finish

כָּלָה (ka.lah) : finish 1) to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to be complete, be at an end 1a2) to be completed, be finished 1a3) to be accomplished, be fulfilled 1a4) to be determined, be plotted (bad sense) 1a5) to be spent, be used up 1a6) to waste away, be exhausted, fail 1a7) to come to an end, vanish, perish, be destroyed 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to complete, bring to an end, finish 1b2) to complete (a period of time) 1b3) to finish (doing a thing) 1b4) to make an end, end …

afterאַחֲרֵ֖י'a-cha-REIH0310A
after

אַחַר (a.char) 1) after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time) 1a) as an adverb 1a1) behind (of place) 1a2) afterwards (of time) 1b) as a preposition 1b1) behind, after (of place) 1b2) after (of time) 1b3) besides 1c) as a conjunction 1c) after that 1d) as a substantive 1d1) hinder part 1e) with other prepositions 1e1) from behind 1e2) from following after

thatאֲשֶׁר־'a-SHER-H0834A
which

אֲשֶׁר (a.sher) A: 1) (relative part.) 1a) which, who 1b) that which 2) (conj) 2a) that (in obj clause) 2b) when 2c) since 2d) as 2e) conditional if B: Beth+ 1) in (that) which 2) (adv) 2a) where 3) (conj) 3a) in that, inasmuch as 3b) on account of C: Mem+ 1) from (or than) that which 2) from (the place) where 3) from (the fact) that, since D: Kaph+ 1) (conj.), according as, as, when 1a) according to that which, according as, as 1b) with a causal force: in so far as, since 1c) with a temporal force: when

he has done goodהֵיטִ֥יבhei-TIVH3190
be good

טְאֵב (te.ev) (P'al) to be glad, be good Aramaic of ya.tav (יָטַב "be good" H3190)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.