Joshua 24:14 (LSB)

Passage

“So now, fear Yahweh and serve Him in integrity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:12 Then I sent the hornet before you, and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but not by your sword or your bow.

Joshua 24:13 And I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

Joshua 24:14 “So now, fear Yahweh and serve Him in integrity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

Joshua 24:15 If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fear", "yahweh", "serve", "integrity", "truth", "away", "gods", and "fathers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fear" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And I gave you a land on..." into verse 15's "If it is evil in your sight...", so "fear" and "yahweh" 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 "fear" and "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.