Joshua 24:16

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can¹ worship² other gods!

Joshua 24:23

24:23 Joshua said,³ “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to⁴ the Lord God of Israel.”

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire⁵ to worship⁶ the Lord, choose today whom you will worship,⁷ whether it be the gods whom your ancestors⁸ worshiped⁹ beyond the Euphrates,¹⁰ or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family¹¹ will worship¹² the Lord!”

Joshua 24:20

24:20 If¹³ you abandon the Lord and worship¹⁴ foreign gods, he will turn against you;¹⁵ he will bring disaster on you and destroy you,¹⁶ though he once treated you well.”¹⁷

Joshua 23:7

23:7 or associate with these nations that remain near¹⁸ you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods!¹⁹ You must not worship²⁰ or bow down to them!

Joshua 24:2

24:2 Joshua told all the people, “Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestors²¹ lived beyond the Euphrates River,²² including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped²³ other gods,

Joshua 24:14

24:14 Now²⁴ obey²⁵ the Lord and worship²⁶ him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors²⁷ worshiped²⁸ beyond the Euphrates²⁹ and in Egypt and worship³⁰ the Lord.

Joshua 23:16

23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep,³¹ and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods,³² the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear³³ quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

Joshua 22:22

22:22 “El, God, the Lord!³⁴ El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth!³⁵ Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord,³⁶ don’t spare us³⁷ today!

Joshua 24:19

24:19 Joshua warned³⁸ the people, “You will not keep worshiping³⁹ the Lord, for⁴⁰ he is a holy God.⁴¹ He is a jealous God who will not forgive⁴² your rebellion or your sins.

¹tn Heb “to.”

²tn Or “can serve.”

³tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.

⁴tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.

⁵tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

⁶tn Or “to serve.”

⁷tn Or “will serve.”

⁸tn Heb “your fathers.”

⁹tn Or “served.”

¹⁰tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

¹¹tn Heb “house.”

¹²tn Or “will serve.”

⁷tn Or “when.”

⁸tn Or “and serve.”

⁹tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.

¹⁰tn Heb “bring you to an end.”

¹¹tn Heb “after he did good for you.”

⁹tn Heb “with.”

¹⁰tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.

¹¹tn Or “serve.”

¹¹tn Heb “your fathers.”

¹²tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³tn Or “served.”

¹³sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

¹⁴tn Heb “fear.”

¹⁵tn Or “and serve.”

¹⁶tn Heb “your fathers.”

¹⁷tn Or “served.”

¹⁸tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

¹⁹tn Or “and serve.”

¹⁵tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.”

¹⁶tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

¹⁷tn Or “perish.”

¹⁷sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (’el), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yÿhvah), “Yahweh” (or “the Lord”). The name אֵל (’el, “El”) is often compounded with titles, for example, El Elyon, “God Most High.”

¹⁸tn Heb “he knows.”

¹⁹tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”

²⁰tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.

¹⁹tn Heb “said to.”

²⁰tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

²¹sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

²²tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.

²³tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”