Joshua 24:27 (WEB)

Passage

Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”

Nearby Context

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

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

Joshua 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”

Joshua 24:28 So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

Joshua 24:29 After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten 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 "Joshua wrote these words in the book..." into verse 28's "So Joshua sent the people away each...", 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.