Joshua 24:27 (KJV)

Passage

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

Nearby Context

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 took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.

Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

Joshua 24:28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "joshua", "said", "people", "behold", "stone", "shall", "witness", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "joshua" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "And Joshua wrote these words in the..." into verse 28's "So Joshua let the people depart every...", so "joshua" 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 "joshua" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.