Joshua 24 · Verse 20

Joshua 24:20

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.
Joshua 24:20, King James Version

Joshua 24:20 in other translations

BSBIf 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.”
WEBIf you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good.”
ASVIf 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.
YLTWhen ye forsake Jehovah, and have served gods of a stranger, then He hath turned back and done evil to you, and consumed you, after that He hath done good to you.'
DARBYIf ye forsake Jehovah, and serve strangegods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
BBEIf you are turned away from the Lord and become the servants of strange gods, then turning against you he will do you evil, cutting you off, after he has done you good.
WebsterIf 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.

What does Joshua 24:20 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 →

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 24:20 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.

כִּ֤יkiifH3588
תַֽעַזְבוּ֙ta.'az.Vuyou will forsakeH5800
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֖םva.'a.vad.Temand you will serveH5647
אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Heigods ofH430
נֵכָ֑רne.KharforeignnessH5236
וְשָׁ֨בve.Shavand he will turnH7725
וְהֵרַ֤עve.he.Ra'and he will do harmH7489
לָכֶם֙la.Khemto <the> you
וְכִלָּ֣הve.khi.Lahand he will make an end ofH3615
אֶתְכֶ֔ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
אַחֲרֵ֖י'a.cha.ReiafterH310
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-thatH834
הֵיטִ֥יבhei.Tivhe has done goodH3190
לָכֶֽם\׃la.Khemto <the> you

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

Cross references for Joshua 24:20

  • Hebrews 10:26-27

    For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

  • Acts 7:42

    Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

  • Ezekiel 18:24

    But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

  • 1 Chronicles 28:9

    And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

  • Jeremiah 17:13

    O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

  • Isaiah 65:11-12

    But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

  • 2 Chronicles 15:2

    And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

  • Isaiah 1:28

    And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

  • Isaiah 63:10

    But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

  • Ezra 8:22

    For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

  • Joshua 23:12-15

    Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you. And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.

  • Hebrews 10:38

    Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he will turn.
23:12-15; 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 15:2; Ezr 8:22; Isa 1:28; 63:10; 65:11,12
Jer 17:13; Eze 18:24; Ac 7:42; Heb 10:26,27,38

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

Context

  • Joshua 24:19

    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.

  • Joshua 24:20

    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.

  • Joshua 24:21

    And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.

Read all of Joshua 24

Joshua 24:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Si dejareis á Jehová y sirviereis á dioses ajenos, se volverá, y os maltratará, y os consumirá, después que os ha hecho bien.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Si vous abandonnez l’ Éternel, et si vous servez des dieux étrangers, alors il se retournera et vous fera du mal et vous consumera après vous avoir fait du bien.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wenn ihr Jehova verlasset und fremden Göttern dienet, so wird er sich wenden und euch Übles tun und euch vernichten, nachdem er euch Gutes getan hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Si dimiseritis Dominum, et servieritis diis alienis, convertet se, et affliget vos atque subvertet, postquam vobis præstiterit bona.