Joshua 24:18 (DBY)

Passage

And Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, and the Amorites the inhabitants of the land: so therefore we will serve Jehovah, for he is our God.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:16 And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;

Joshua 24:17 for Jehovah our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs before our eyes, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed!

Joshua 24:18 And Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, and the Amorites the inhabitants of the land: so therefore we will serve Jehovah, for he is our God.

Joshua 24:19 And Joshua said to the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

Joshua 24:20 If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "drove", "before", "peoples", "amorites", "inhabitants", "land", and "therefore". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "drove", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "for Jehovah our God he it is..." into verse 19's "And Joshua said to the people Ye...", so "jehovah" and "drove" 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 "jehovah" and "drove" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.