Joshua 24:10 (ASV)

Passage

but I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

Joshua 24:9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;

Joshua 24:10 but I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

Joshua 24:11 And ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.

Joshua 24:12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hearken", "balaam", "therefore", "blessed", "still", "delivered", and "hand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hearken" and "balaam", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Then Balak the son of Zippor king..." into verse 11's "And ye went over the Jordan and...", so "hearken" and "balaam" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hearken" and "balaam" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.