Joshua 24:14
in Joshua 24Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah.
KJV
Now 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.
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This verse in Joshua 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFear the Lord - Reverence him as the sole object of your religious worship. Serve him - Perform his will by obeying his commands. In sincerity - Having your whole heart engaged in his worship. And in truth - According to the directions he has given you in his infallible word. Put away the gods, etc. - From this exhortation of Joshua we learn of what sort the gods were, to the worship of whom these Israelites were still attached.
This site's exposition
Now therefore fear the Lord
on Joshua 24:14-15
The order to put away the gods your fathers served tells a reader that idols were still in the camp after everything recited in verses 2 to 13, and verse 23 says so again in plain words. The choice Joshua sets is between the gods beyond the river and the gods of the Amorites, so serving nothing at all is absent from the options he lays out. He answers his own question before anyone else can speak, and he answers for a household rather than for one man.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Therefore, what Joshua said to the people when he settled them in the holy land, the Scripture might also say now to us. The text reads as follows, "Now fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and righteousness."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For what good will it do us to dissemble with a God that searches the heart? (3.) Put away the strange gods, both Chaldean and Egyptian idols, for those they were most in danger of revolting to. It should seem by this charge, which is repeated (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Now therefore fear the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֞ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יְר֧אוּ | yeru | fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְעִבְד֥וּ | veivdu | and serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּתָמִ֣ים | betamim | in integrity | H8549 → | |
| וּבֶֽאֱמֶ֑ת | uveemet | and in faithfulness | H571 → | 127 times |
| וְהָסִ֣ירוּ | vehasiru | and remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֗ים | ʾelohim | [the] gods | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֩ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָבְד֨וּ | ʾavedu | they served | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֜ם | ʾavoteikhem | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בְּעֵ֤בֶר | beever | on [the] other side of | H5676 → | 90 times |
| הַנָּהָר֙ | hanahar | the river | H5104 → | 119 times |
| וּבְמִצְרַ֔יִם | uvemitzrayim | and in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְעִבְד֖וּ | veivdu | and serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְעַתָּ֞הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
יְר֧אוּfear
yeruH3372 →315 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְעִבְד֥וּand serve
veivduH5647 →288 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
בְּתָמִ֣יםin integrity
betamimH8549 →
וּבֶֽאֱמֶ֑תand in faithfulness
uveemetH571 →127 times
וְהָסִ֣ירוּand remove
vehasiruH5493 →299 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהִ֗ים[the] gods
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אֲשֶׁר֩which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָבְד֨וּthey served
ʾaveduH5647 →288 times
אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֜םancestors your
ʾavoteikhemH1 →1212 times
בְּעֵ֤בֶרon [the] other side of
beeverH5676 →90 times
הַנָּהָר֙the river
hanaharH5104 →119 times
וּבְמִצְרַ֔יִםand in Egypt
uvemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְעִבְד֖וּand serve
veivduH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 10:12And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your…
it leads to
- Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Deuteronomy 6:5
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
- Luke 10:27
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- Deuteronomy 5:33
You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
- Deuteronomy 11:13
So if you carefully obey the commandments I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
- Micah 6:8
Through
1 Samuel 12:24Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:21
He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Isaiah 5:12
At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
- Deuteronomy 10:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 17.