Joshua 24:22 (LSB)

Passage

And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves Yahweh, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”

Joshua 24:21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.”

Joshua 24:22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves Yahweh, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

Joshua 24:23 “So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”

Joshua 24:24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to His voice.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "joshua", "said", "people", "witnesses", "against", "yourselves", and "chosen". 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 21's "And the people said to Joshua No..." into verse 23's "So now put away the foreign gods...", 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.