“No!” replied the people. “We will serve the LORD!”
Parallel translations
- WEB The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.”
- KJV And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
- NKJV And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”
- NASB And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.”
- NLT But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
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
The people insist, 'No, but we will serve Yahweh.' It matters as their renewed and emphatic commitment despite the warnings.
Overview
Undeterred by Joshua's warnings, the people reaffirm their resolve to serve Yahweh. Their persistence sets the stage for the formal covenant that follows. The exchange teaches that commitment to God should be made soberly, counting the cost, as Jesus taught His followers (Luke 14:25-33).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Deut 5:27–28Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”
- Isa 44:5One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”
- Exod 19:8And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD.
- Exod 20:19“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
- Exod 24:3When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”
- Exod 24:7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
- Deut 26:17Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 24:21 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.