Joshua 24 · Verse 21

Joshua 24:21

And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:21, King James Version

Joshua 24:21 in other translations

BSB“No!” replied the people. “We will serve the LORD!”
WEBThe people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.”
ASVAnd the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah.
YLTAnd the people saith unto Joshua, ‘No, but Jehovah we do serve.'
DARBYAnd the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve Jehovah.
BBEAnd the people said to Joshua, No! But we will be the servants of the Lord.
WebsterAnd the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve the LORD.

What does Joshua 24:21 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 21 And the people said - Nay; but we will serve, etc. - So they understood the words of Joshua to imply no moral impossibility on their side: and had they earnestly sought the gracious assistance of God, they would have continued steady in his covenant.

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 24:21 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.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶרvai.Yo.merand it saidH559
הָעָ֖םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַye.ho.Shu.a'JoshuaH3091
לֹ֕אlo'In-H3808
כִּ֥יkideedH3588
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
נַעֲבֹֽד\׃na.'a.Vodwe will serveH5647

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

Cross references for Joshua 24:21

  • Exodus 20:19

    And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

  • Deuteronomy 5:27-28

    Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

  • Exodus 19:8

    And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.

  • Isaiah 44:5

    One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

  • Exodus 24:7

    And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

  • Exodus 24:3

    And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Nay.
Ex 19:8; 20:19; 24:3,7; De 5:27,28; 26:17; Isa 44:5

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

Context

  • 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.

  • Joshua 24:22

    And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

Read all of Joshua 24

Joshua 24:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El pueblo entonces dijo á Josué: No, antes á Jehová serviremos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le peuple dit à Josué: Non, car nous servirons l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und das Volk sprach zu Josua: Nein, sondern Jehova wollen wir dienen!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque populus ad Josue: Nequaquam ita ut loqueris erit, sed Domino serviemus.