Joshua 24:23 (YLT)

Passage

and, now, turn aside the gods of the stranger which <FI>are<Fi> in your midst, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, God of Israel.'

Nearby Context

Joshua 24:21 And the people saith unto Joshua, `No, but Jehovah we do serve.'

Joshua 24:22 And Joshua saith unto the people, `Witnesses ye are against yourselves, that ye have chosen for you Jehovah to serve Him (and they say, `Witnesses!')

Joshua 24:23 and, now, turn aside the gods of the stranger which <FI>are<Fi> in your midst, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, God of Israel.'

Joshua 24:24 And the people say unto Joshua, `Jehovah our God we serve, and to His voice we hearken.'

Joshua 24:25 And Joshua maketh a covenant with the people on that day, and layeth on it a statute and an ordinance, in Shechem.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turn", "aside", "gods", "stranger", "midst", "incline", "heart", and "jehovah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "turn" and "aside", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "And Joshua saith unto the people Witnesses..." into verse 24's "And the people say unto Joshua Jehovah...", so "turn" and "aside" 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 "turn" and "aside" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.