Paragraph 24:14–15
24:14a
Now, therefore: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now, therefore is used to draw a conclusion from the previous paragraphs. In those paragraphs Yahweh spoke to the Israelites through Joshua. Now, in the coming paragraphs, Joshua will exhort the Israelites himself to honor Yahweh.
Make it clear in your translation that God finished speaking at the end of verse 13, and that Joshua is speaking in verse 14.
Here are some other ways to translate this Hebrew conjunction:
So now
-or-
Therefore
-or-
Because of all that Yahweh has done for you (Translation for Translators)
fear the LORD: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fear includes honoring Yahweh and worshiping him.
and serve Him in sincerity and truth: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in sincerity can also be translated “completely” or “without fault.” The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as truth indicates honesty. Together these two words indicate that the Israelites should worship and obey Yahweh completely, with their whole hearts. They must be totally loyal to him.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
So now worship Yahweh and obey him completely and sincerely.
-or-
Therefore you (plur.) must honor and worship Yahweh and be true and faithful to him.
24:14b
cast aside the gods your fathers served: Joshua said that the Israelites must throw away any images of gods that they still had.
beyond the Euphrates: The phrase beyond the Euphrates refers to the east side of the Euphrates River. In the time of Abraham’s parents, the ancestors of the Israelites lived on the east side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. Some of them still worshiped these gods.
and in Egypt: The Israelites worshiped other gods during the time that they lived in Egypt. This is mentioned in Ezekiel 20:7.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Destroy the gods that your ancestors worshiped while they lived on the east side of the Euphrates River, and in Egypt.
-or-
Throw away the gods that your ancestors used to worship when they lived on the east side of the Euphrates River, and also in Egypt
24:14c
and serve the LORD: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as serve means to worship and obey him.
© 2001, 2011, 2020, 2022, 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.