Joshua 24:24 (ASV)

Passage

And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

Joshua 24:23 Now therefore put away, [said he], the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the God of Israel.

Joshua 24:24 And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken.

Joshua 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Joshua 24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "people", "said", "joshua", "jehovah", "serve", "voice", and "hearken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "people" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "Now therefore put away said he the..." into verse 25's "So Joshua made a covenant with the...", so "people" and "said" 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 "people" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.