Joshua 24:16

THE MESSAGE

The people answered, "We'd never forsake God ! Never! We'd never leave God to worship other gods.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods!

Hebrew Names Version
The people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

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

Lexham English Bible
And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods,

English Standard Version
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods,

New Century Version
Then the people answered, "We will never stop following the Lord to serve other gods!

New English Translation
The people responded, "Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can worship other gods!

Amplified Bible
The people answered, "Far be it from us to abandon (reject) the LORD to serve other gods;

New American Standard Bible
The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would abandon the LORD to serve other gods;

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the people answered and saide, God forbid, that we shoulde forsake the Lord, to serue other gods.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh to serve other gods;

Contemporary English Version
The people answered: We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the Lord .

Complete Jewish Bible
The people answered, "Far be it from us that we would abandon Adonai to serve other gods;

Darby Translation
And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the people answered, "We will never stop following the Lord . We will never serve other gods!

George Lamsa Translation
And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

Good News Translation
The people replied, "We would never leave the Lord to serve other gods!

Literal Translation
And the people replied and said, Far be it from us to forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then answered the people, and saide: God forbidde, that we shulde forsake the LORDE, & serue other goddes.

American Standard Version
And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;

Bible in Basic English
Then the people in answer said, Never will we give up the Lord to be the servants of other gods;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The people aunswered and sayd: God forbyd, that we should forsake the Lord, and serue straunge goddes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the people answered and said: 'Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

King James Version (1611)
And the people answered and said, God forbid that wee should forsake the Lord, to serue other gods.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the people answered and said, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord, so as to serve other gods.

English Revised Version
And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

Berean Standard Bible
The people replied, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And al the puple answeride and seide, Fer be it fro vs that we forsake the Lord, and serue alien goddis.

Young's Literal Translation
And the people answer and say, `Far be it from us to forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;

Update Bible Version
And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve other gods;

Webster's Bible Translation
And the people answered, and said, Be it far from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

World English Bible
The people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve other gods;

New King James Version
So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

New Living Translation
The people replied, "We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods.

New Life Bible
The people answered, "May it never be that we turn away from the Lord and serve other gods.

New Revised Standard
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then responded the people, and said, Far be it from us, that we should forsake Yahweh, - to serve other gods;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the people answered, and said, God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.

Revised Standard Version
Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ "If you decide that it's a bad thing to worship God , then choose a god you'd rather serve—and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you're now living. As for me and my family, we'll worship God ." ¹⁶ The people answered, "We'd never forsake God ! Never! We'd never leave God to worship other gods. ¹⁷" God is our God! He brought up our ancestors from Egypt and from slave conditions. He did all those great signs while we watched. He has kept his eye on us all along the roads we've traveled and among the nations we've passed through. Just for us he drove out all the nations, Amorites and all, who lived in the land. "Count us in: We too are going to worship God . He's our God." ¹⁹Then Joshua told the people: "You can't do it; you're not able to worship God . He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won't put up with your fooling around and sinning. When you leave God and take up the worship of foreign gods, he'll turn right around and come down on you hard. He'll put an end to you—and after all the good he has done for you!" ²¹ But the people told Joshua: "No! No! We worship God !" ²² And so Joshua addressed the people: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen God for yourselves—to worship him." And they said, "We are witnesses." ²³ Joshua said, "Now get rid of all the foreign gods you have with you. Say an unqualified Yes to God , the God of Israel." ²⁴ The people answered Joshua, "We will worship God . What he says, we'll do." ²⁵Joshua completed a Covenant for the people that day there at Shechem. He made it official, spelling it out in detail. Joshua wrote out all the directions and regulations into the Book of The Revelation of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak that was in the holy place of God . ²⁷ Joshua spoke to all the people: "This stone is a witness against us. It has heard every word that God has said to us. It is a standing witness against you lest you cheat on your God."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Samuel 12:23, Romans 3:6, Romans 6:2, Hebrews 10:38, Hebrews 10:39

Reciprocal: Joshua 22:29 - God forbid 1 Samuel 20:2 - God forbid 1 Kings 21:3 - The Lord Jeremiah 2:20 - and thou saidst

Cross-References

Genesis 4:1
Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, "I've gotten a man, with God 's help!"

Genesis 24:18
She said, "Certainly, drink!" And she held the jug so that he could drink. When he had satisfied his thirst she said, "I'll get water for your camels, too, until they've drunk their fill." She promptly emptied her jug into the trough and ran back to the well to fill it, and she kept at it until she had watered all the camels. The man watched, silent. Was this God 's answer? Had God made his trip a success or not?

Genesis 26:7
The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, "She's my sister." He was afraid to say "She's my wife." He was thinking, "These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she's so beautiful."

Song of Solomon 5:2

The Woman

I was sound asleep, but in my dreams I was wide awake. Oh, listen! It's the sound of my lover knocking, calling!

The Man

"Let me in, dear companion, dearest friend, my dove, consummate lover! I'm soaked with the dampness of the night, drenched with dew, shivering and cold."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the people answered and said,.... To Joshua, upon his proposal to them, the option he gave them to serve the Lord or idols, and which was only done to try them:

God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; they speak with the utmost abhorrence of idolatry, as a thing far from their hearts and thoughts, as the most abominable and execrable that could be thought or spoken of; to forsake the word, and worship, and ordinances of God, and serve the idols of the Gentiles, strange gods, whether more ancient or more recent, such as their fathers worshipped in former times, or the inhabitants of the land they now dwelt in, for which they were spewed out of it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 24:16. 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, Joshua 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."