The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
- BSB “No!” replied the people. “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 hear all that Yahweh our God shall say, and tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you; and we will hear it, and do it.”
- Isa 44:5One will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s;’ and another will be called by the name of Jacob; and another will write with his hand ‘to Yahweh,’ and honor the name of Israel.”
- Exod 19:8All the people answered together, and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh.
- Exod 20:19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
- Exod 24:3Moses came and told the people all Yahweh’s words, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which Yahweh has spoken will we do.”
- Exod 24:7He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient.”
- Deut 26:17You have declared today that Yahweh is your God, and that you would walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his 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.