Joshua 24:12 (GNV)

Passage

And I sent hornets before you, which cast them out before you, euen the two kings of the Amorites, and not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:10 But I would not heare Balaam: therefore he blessed you, and I deliuered you out of his hand.

Joshua 24:11 And ye went ouer Iorden, and came vnto Iericho, and the men of Iericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hiuites and the Iebusites, and I deliuered them into your hand.

Joshua 24:12 And I sent hornets before you, which cast them out before you, euen the two kings of the Amorites, and not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

Joshua 24:13 And I haue giuen you a land, wherein ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and yee dwell in them, and eate of the vineyards and oliue trees, which yee planted not.

Joshua 24:14 Nowe therefore feare the Lord, and serue him in vprightnesse and in trueth, and put away the gods, which your fathers serued beyonde the flood and in Egypt, and serue the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sent", "hornets", "before", "cast", "euen", "kings", and "amorites". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sent" and "hornets", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And ye went ouer Iorden and came..." into verse 13's "And I haue giuen you a land...", so "sent" and "hornets" 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 "sent" and "hornets" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.