Joshua 24:19-28

Joshua 24:19-28 New International Version (NIV)

Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.” On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD. “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 The Message (MSG)

Then Joshua told the people: “You can’t do it; you’re not able to worship GOD. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t put up with your fooling around and sinning. When you leave GOD and take up the worship of foreign gods, he’ll turn right around and come down on you hard. He’ll put an end to you—and after all the good he has done for you!” But the people told Joshua: “No! No! We worship GOD!” And so Joshua addressed the people: “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen GOD for yourselves—to worship him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” Joshua said, “Now get rid of all the foreign gods you have with you. Say an unqualified Yes to GOD, the God of Israel.” The people answered Joshua, “We will worship GOD. What he says, we’ll do.” Joshua completed a Covenant for the people that day there at Shechem. He made it official, spelling it out in detail. Joshua wrote out all the directions and regulations into the Book of The Revelation of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak that was in the holy place of GOD. Joshua spoke to all the people: “This stone is a witness against us. It has heard every word that GOD has said to us. It is a standing witness against you lest you cheat on your God.” Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his own place of inheritance. * * *

Joshua 24:19-28 King James Version (KJV)

And 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. 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. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. And 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. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And 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. And 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. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 New Century Version (NCV)

Then Joshua said, “You are not able to serve the LORD, because he is a holy God and a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. If you leave the LORD and serve other gods, he will send you great trouble. The LORD may have been good to you, but if you turn against him, he will destroy you.” But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said, “You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” The people said, “Yes, we are.” Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the gods that you have. Love the LORD, the God of Israel, with all your heart.” Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God, and we will obey him.” On that day at Shechem Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made rules and laws for them to follow. Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the LORD’s Holy Tent. Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will remind you of what we did today. It was here the LORD spoke to us today. It will remind you of what happened so you will not turn against your God.” Then Joshua sent the people back to their land.

Joshua 24:19-28 American Standard Version (ASV)

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. 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. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 New King James Version (NKJV)

But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!” So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD [if you serve any other gods], for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]. He will not forgive your transgression [of His law] or your sins. If you do abandon (reject) the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume and destroy you after He has done you good.” The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve [only] the LORD.” Joshua then said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” “Now then, remove the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your hearts toward the LORD, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and we will listen to and obey His voice.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in [the courtyard of] the sanctuary of the LORD. Joshua then said to all the people, “Look, this stone shall serve as a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that [afterward] you do not deny your God.” Then Joshua sent the people away, each to [the territory of] his inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you abandon the LORD and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.” But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the LORD!” “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.” “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey him alone.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the LORD. Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle of the LORD. Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the LORD said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.” Then Joshua sent all the people away to their own homelands.

Joshua 24:19-28 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Joshua warned the people, “Don’t be so quick to say, ‘We will worship and serve YAHWEH,’ for he is a holy God. And he will tolerate no rivals. God will not forgive the sin of unfaithfulness to him. If after YAHWEH has been gracious to you, you turn and forsake him to worship other gods, then he will turn and deal harshly with you and totally consume you!” “No, no!” the people responded. “We promise to worship and serve YAHWEH!” Then Joshua said to them, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve YAHWEH.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they responded. “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away these foreign gods that are among you, and yield your hearts fully to YAHWEH the God of Israel!” And the people promised Joshua, “We really will worship and serve our God, YAHWEH, and listen to his voice.” On that day when the people were gathered at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant between them and YAHWEH, which contained laws the people were to obey. Joshua recorded all this in a book of divine instruction. Then he set up a large stone memorial at the tent pole near the holy place of YAHWEH. Joshua said to all the people, “Look at this stone! It will serve as a witness, for it heard all the words that YAHWEH spoke to us; it will be a witness against you if you rebel against our God.” Joshua then dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.

Joshua 24:19-28 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.