Joshua 24:31 (ASV)

Passage

And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Jehovah, that he had wrought for Israel.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old.

Joshua 24:30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.

Joshua 24:31 And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Jehovah, that he had wrought for Israel.

Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Joshua 24:33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "served", "jehovah", "days", "joshua", "elders", and "outlived". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "served", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "And they buried him in the border..." into verse 32's "And the bones of Joseph which the...", so "israel" and "served" 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 "israel" and "served" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.