Joshua 24:19-21

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Joshua 24:19 tn Heb “said to.”
2. Joshua 24:19 tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”
3. Joshua 24:19 sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.
4. Joshua 24:19 tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ʾelohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, q^edoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.
5. Joshua 24:19 tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”sn This assertion obviously needs qualification, for the OT elsewhere affirms that God does forgive. Joshua is referring to the persistent national rebellion against the Mosaic covenant that eventually causes God to decree unconditionally the nation’s exile.
6. Joshua 24:20 tn Or “when.”
7. Joshua 24:20 tn Or “and serve.”
8. Joshua 24:20 tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.
9. Joshua 24:20 tn Heb “bring you to an end.”
10. Joshua 24:20 tn Heb “after he did good for you.”
11. Joshua 24:21 tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”
12. Joshua 24:21 tn Or “will serve.”