Joshua 24:27 (LSB)

Passage

And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:25 So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and a judgment in Shechem.

Joshua 24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh.

Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”

Joshua 24:28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

Joshua 24:29 Now it happened that after these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being 110 years old.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "joshua", "said", "people", "behold", "stone", "shall", "witness", and "against". 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 "Then Joshua dismissed the people each to...", 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.