Joshua 24:23
in Joshua 24“Now, therefore,” he said, “get rid of the foreign gods among you and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the God of Israel.
KJV
Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
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This verse in Joshua 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWe need only to will perfection, since it is within our power and is developed by us, for, when the soul keeps the understanding in its natural state, perfection is confirmed. The soul is in its natural state when it remains as it was created, and it was created beautifully and exceedingly upright. For this reason, Joshua, the son of Nave [Nun], commanded the people: "Incline your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel," and John: "Make straight his paths." Rectitude of soul, then, consists in preserving the intellect in its natural state, as it was created.
This site's exposition
get rid of the foreign gods among you
on Joshua 24:23-24
The idols are said to be among them, in the present tense, at the end of a covenant ceremony. At Genesis 35:2 Jacob gives his household nearly the same order, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you", and at 35:4 buries them under the oak near Shechem. The people's second answer adds "obey His voice", moving the promise from loyalty to obedience.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now therefore put away, said he,....
These terms they agree to, and thus, as Joshua explains the bargain, they strike it: The Lord our God will we serve. The service of God being thus made their deliberate choice, Joshua binds them to it by a solemn covenant,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
Now therefore put away - As you have promised to reform, begin instantly the work of reformation. A man’s promise to serve God soon loses its moral hold of his conscience if he do not instantaneously begin to put it in practice. The grace that enables him to promise is that by the strength of which he is to begin the performance.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
You are witnesses against yourselves. Yehoshua foresaw that in the future, they would undermine [the covenant] in the days of Yechezkeil and say, “We want to be like the [other] nations,” and therefore he was so hard on them now.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֕ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| הָסִ֛ירוּ | hasiru | remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] gods of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַנֵּכָ֖ר | hanekhar | <the> foreignness | H5236 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם | bekirbekhem | [are] in midst your | H7130 → | 227 times |
| וְהַטּוּ֙ | vehatu | and turn | H5186 → | 214 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְבַבְכֶ֔ם | levavkhem | heart your | H3824 → | 252 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְעַתָּ֕הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
הָסִ֛ירוּremove
hasiruH5493 →299 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] gods of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הַנֵּכָ֖ר<the> foreignness
hanekharH5236 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֑ם[are] in midst your
bekirbekhemH7130 →227 times
וְהַטּוּ֙and turn
vehatuH5186 →214 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
לְבַבְכֶ֔םheart your
levavkhemH3824 →252 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Joshua 24:14Now, 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.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 12:24
Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.
- Deuteronomy 10:12
And 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…
- Genesis 35:2
So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12
And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom,…
- Psalms 119:1
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 12:24
Through
Proverbs 2:2if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
- Proverbs 18:1
He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- Psalms 119:111–112
Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
- Proverbs 23:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, Life of St. Anthony 20; 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.