Joshua 24 · Verse 16

Joshua 24:16

And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
Joshua 24:16, King James Version

Joshua 24:16 in other translations

BSBThe people replied, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!
WEBThe people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
ASVAnd the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;
YLTAnd the people answer and say, ‘Far be it from us to forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;
DARBYAnd the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve othergods;
BBEThen the people in answer said, Never will we give up the Lord to be the servants of other gods;
WebsterAnd the people answered, and said, Be it far from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

What does Joshua 24:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 24:14-28

14-28. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth--After having enumerated so many grounds for national gratitude, Joshua calls on them to declare, in a public and solemn manner, whether they will be faithful and obedient to the God of Israel. He avowed this to be his own unalterable resolution, and urged them, if they were sincere in making a similar avowal, "to put away the strange gods…

Read the full comment on Joshua 24:14-28 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 God forbid that we should forsake the Lord - That they were now sincere cannot be reasonably doubted, for they served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Jos 24:31; but afterwards they turned aside, and did serve other gods. "It is ordinary," says Mr. Trapp, "for the many-headed multitude to turn with the stream - to be of the same religion with their superiors: thus at Rome, in Diocletian's time, they were pagans; in Constantine's Christians; in Constantius's, Arians; in Julian's apostates, and in Jovinian's, Christians again! And all this within less than the age of a man. It is, therefore, a good thing that the heart be established with grace."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 24:15-28

It is essential that the service of God's people be performed with a willing mind. For LOVE is the only genuine principle whence all acceptable service of God can spring. The Father seeks only such to worship him, as worship him in spirit and in truth. The carnal mind of man is enmity against God, therefore, is not capable of such spiritual worship. Hence the necessity of being born again. But numbers rest in mere…

Read the full comment on Joshua 24:15-28 →

Joshua 24:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֤עַןvai.Ya.'anand it answeredH6030
הָעָם֙ha.'Amthe peopleH5971
וַיֹּ֔אמֶרvai.Yo.merand it saidH559
חָלִ֣ילָהcha.Li.lahfar be itH2486
לָּ֔נוּLa.nuto <the> us
מֵעֲזֹ֖בme.'a.Zofrom forsakingH5800
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לַעֲבֹ֖דla.'a.Vodto serveH5647
אֱלֹהִ֥ים'E.lo.HimgodsH430
אֲחֵרִֽים\׃'a.che.RimotherH312

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 24:16

  • Hebrews 10:38-39

    Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

  • 1 Samuel 12:23

    Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

  • Romans 6:2

    God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

  • Romans 3:6

    God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 12:23; Ro 3:6; 6:2; Heb 10:38,39

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 24:15

    And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

  • Joshua 24:16

    And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;

  • Joshua 24:17

    For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

Read all of Joshua 24

Joshua 24:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces el pueblo respondió, y dijo: Nunca tal acontezca, que dejemos á Jehová por servir á otros dioses:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le peuple répondit et dit: Loin de nous que nous abandonnions l’ Éternel pour servir d’autres dieux!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und das Volk antwortete und sprach: Fern sei es von uns, Jehova zu verlassen, um anderen Göttern zu dienen!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Responditque populus, et ait: Absit a nobis ut relinquamus Dominum, et serviamus diis alienis.