If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
Joshua 24:13 I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’
Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh.
Joshua 24:15 If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
Joshua 24:16 The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve other gods;
Joshua 24:17 for it is Yahweh our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed.
The verse centers on "seems", "evil", "serve", "yahweh", "choose", "today", and "whether". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seems" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Now therefore fear Yahweh and serve him..." into verse 16's "The people answered Far be it from...", so "seems" and "evil" 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 "seems" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.