Joshua 24:19

Joshua warned ¹  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ²  the Lord, for ³  he is a holy God. ⁴  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ⁵  your rebellion or your sins.

Ex 20:5; Ex 23:21; Ex 34:7; Ex 34:14; Le 10:3; Le 19:2; Jos 24:23; Ru 1:15; 1Sa 3:14; 1Sa 6:20; 2Ch 36:16; Ps 99:5,9; Isa 5:16; Isa 6:3-5; Isa 27:11; Isa 30:11,15; Hab 1:13; Mt 6:24; Lu 14:25-33; 1Co 10:20-22

¹ tn Heb “said to.”

² tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

³ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

⁴ tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “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 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 cause God to decree unconditionally the nation’s exile.