If 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.”
Parallel translations
- WEB If you forsake Yahweh, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has 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.
- NKJV 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.”
- NASB If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and destroy you after He has done good to you.”
- NLT 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.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua warns that if Israel forsakes Yahweh for foreign gods, He will turn and bring harm and consume them, even after blessing them. It matters because covenant privilege does not exempt anyone from judgment for apostasy.
Overview
The warning underscores that God's past goodness does not shield the unfaithful from discipline; turning to idols invites His judgment. This sober note balances the comfort of grace with the seriousness of covenant obligation. The New Testament likewise warns the privileged not to fall away but to persevere in faith (Hebrews 10:26-31).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Heb 10:26–27If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Jer 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 living water.
- 1 Chr 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. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
- Ezek 18:24But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.
- Acts 7:42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
- Isa 65:11–12But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
- 2 Chr 15:2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
- Isa 63:10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Isa 1:28But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
- Ezra 8:22For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”
- Heb 10:38But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- Josh 23:12–15For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 24:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.