Joshua 24:20
in Joshua 24If 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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.
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This verse in Joshua 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You are not able to serve the LORD
on Joshua 24:19-20
The line "You are not able to serve the LORD" stands without softening. Matthew Henry and John Gill read it as Joshua pressing the cost so the oath is not taken lightly, and the witness clause of verse 22 supports that. Others read it of people still holding foreign gods, as verse 23 says, and the refusal to forgive stands beside Exodus 34:7, where God forgives transgression; both stand.
This site's exposition
He will turn and bring disaster
He will turn names a reversal that Isaiah 63:10 later records as done, when Israel grieved His Holy Spirit and He turned and became their enemy. Jeremiah 21:5 has the LORD say to Judah, I Myself will fight against you. The God who fought for Israel at 23:10 turns.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
You cannot serve God in your own strength, nor will he forgive your transgressions for any righteousness of your own; but all the seed of Israel must be justified and must glory in the Lord alone as their righteousness and strength, " Isa. xlv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Will turn - That is, he will alter his course and the manner of his dealing with you, and will be as severe as ever he was kind and gracious. He will repent of his former kindnesses, and his goodness abused will be turned into fury.
If you forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods,....
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַֽעַזְבוּ֙ | taazvu | you will forsake | H5800 → | 215 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֖ם | vaavadtem | and you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֵכָ֑ר | nekhar | foreignness | H5236 → | |
| וְשָׁ֨ב | veshav | and he will turn | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וְהֵרַ֤ע | vehera' | and he will do harm | H7489 → | |
| לָכֶם֙ | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| וְכִלָּ֣ה | vekhilah | and he will make an end of | H3615 → | 208 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֖י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵיטִ֥יב | heitiv | he has done good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ | lakhem | to <the> you |
כִּ֤יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
תַֽעַזְבוּ֙you will forsake
taazvuH5800 →215 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֖םand you will serve
vaavadtemH5647 →288 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣יgods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
נֵכָ֑רforeignness
nekharH5236 →
וְשָׁ֨בand he will turn
veshavH7725 →1056 times
וְהֵרַ֤עand he will do harm
vehera'H7489 →
לָכֶם֙to <the> you
lakhem
וְכִלָּ֣הand he will make an end of
vekhilahH3615 →208 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
אַחֲרֵ֖יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הֵיטִ֥יבhe has done good
heitivH3190 →117 times
לָכֶֽם׃to <the> you
lakhem
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
1 Chronicles 28:9As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
- James 4:8–11
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their…
- Jeremiah 29:13
Through
Jeremiah 17:13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of…
it leads to
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 7:37–38
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Revelation 7:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Joshua
This page draws on 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.