Joshua 24:23

23 Therefore, he said, now do ye away alien gods from the midst of you (And so now, he said, do ye away foreign, or other, gods from your midst), and bow ye your hearts to the Lord God of Israel.

Joshua 24:23 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 24:23

Now therefore put away, [said he]
Which last words are rightly supplied, for they are the words of Joshua:

the strange gods which [are] among you;
not their private notions and secret sentiments that some of them had imbibed in favour of idols, and the worship of them, as Ben Gersom thinks; but, as the Targum expresses it,

``the idols of the Gentiles;''

either such as they had brought out of Egypt, or had found among the plunder of the Canaanites, and had secretly retained; or, as others think, their "penates", or household gods, they had privately kept and worshipped, such as those that were in Jacob's family, which he caused to be delivered to him, and which he hid under an oak in this place where Israel were now assembled, ( Genesis 35:2 Genesis 35:4 ) ; and which Joshua by a prophetic discerning spirit perceived were now among them:

and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel;
to love, fear, and serve him; that is, pray that your hearts may be inclined thereunto, and make use of all means that may tend to direct your hearts to him, and his service; so the Targum,

``to the worship of the Lord God of Israel.''

Joshua 24:23 In-Context

21 And the people said to Joshua, It shall not be so, as thou speakest, but we shall serve the Lord.

22 And Joshua said to the people, Ye be witnesses (to yourselves), that ye have chosen the Lord to you, that ye serve him. And they answered, We be witnesses. (And Joshua said to the people, Ye be your own witnesses, that ye have chosen the Lord for yourselves, and that ye shall serve him. And they answered, We be our own witnesses.)

23 Therefore, he said, now do ye away alien gods from the midst of you (And so now, he said, do ye away foreign, or other, gods from your midst), and bow ye your hearts to the Lord God of Israel.

24 And the people said to Joshua, We shall serve the Lord our God, and we shall be obedient to his behests (and we shall obey his commands).

25 Therefore Joshua smote a bond of peace in that day, and setted forth to the people commandments and dooms in Shechem. (And so Joshua struck a covenant that day, and set forth for the people commandments and laws in Shechem.)