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Contemporary English Version

Joshua 24:22

Joshua said, "You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the Lord . Isn't that true?" "Yes, it's true," they answered.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Backsliders;   Covenant;   Decision;   Shechem;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Shechem;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Pillars;   Shechem (1);   Holman Bible Dictionary - Covenant;   Ebal;   Joshua;   Joshua, the Book of;   Temple of Jerusalem;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Shechem;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Choose;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Shechem;   Teraphim;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.”
Hebrew Names Version
Yehoshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. They said, We are witnesses.
King James Version
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord , to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Lexham English Bible
And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "We are witnesses."
English Standard Version
Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord , to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
New Century Version
Then Joshua said, "You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord ." The people said, "Yes, we are."
New English Translation
Joshua said to the people, "Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord ?" They replied, "We are witnesses!"
Amplified Bible
Joshua then said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
New American Standard Bible
So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Ioshua saide vnto the people, Yee are witnesses against your selues, that yee haue chosen you the Lord, to serue him: and they sayd, We are witnesses.
Legacy Standard Bible
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."
Complete Jewish Bible
Y'hoshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Adonai , to serve him." They answered, "We are witnesses."
Darby Translation
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, [We are] witnesses.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Joshua said, "Look around at yourselves and the people with you. Do you all know and agree that you have chosen to serve the Lord ? Are you all witnesses to this?" The people answered, "Yes, it is true. We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord ."
George Lamsa Translation
And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Good News Translation
Joshua told them, "You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve the Lord ." "Yes," they said, "we are witnesses."
Literal Translation
And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves, that you have chosen Jehovah for yourselves, to serve Him (for they said, We are witnesses).
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Iosua vnto the people: Ye are witnesses ouer youre selues, that ye haue chosen you the LORDE, to serue him. And they sayde: Yee.
American Standard Version
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Bible in Basic English
And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have made the decision to be the servants of the Lord. And they said, We are witnesses.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iosuah sayde vnto the people: Ye are witnesses against your selues, that ye haue chosen you the Lorde to serue him. And they sayde: we are witnesses.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve Him.--And they said: 'We are witnesses.'--
King James Version (1611)
And Ioshua said vnto the people, Yee are witnesses against your selues, that yee haue chosen you the Lord, to serue him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joshua said to the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen the Lord to serve him.
English Revised Version
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Joshua told them, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "We are witnesses!" they said.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Josue seide to the puple, Ye ben witnessis, that ye han chose the Lord to you, that ye serue him. And thei answeriden, We ben witnessis.
Young's Literal Translation
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!')
Update Bible Version
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.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Joshua said to the people, Ye [are] witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, [We are] witnesses.
World English Bible
Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen you Yahweh, to serve him. They said, We are witnesses.
New King James Version
So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!"
New Living Translation
"You are a witness to your own decision," Joshua said. "You have chosen to serve the Lord ." "Yes," they replied, "we are witnesses to what we have said."
New Life Bible
Then Joshua said to the people, "You have spoken for yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord." And they said, "We have spoken for ourselves."
New Revised Standard
Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord , to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Joshua unto the people - Witnesses, are ye, against yourselves, that, ye yourselves, have chosen you Yahweh, to serve him. And they said: Witnesses!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Josue said to the people, You are witnesses, that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they answered: We are witnesses.
Revised Standard Version
Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
THE MESSAGE
And so Joshua addressed the people: "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen God for yourselves—to worship him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses."

Contextual Overview

15 But if you don't want to worship the Lord , then choose right now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you're living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you'll worship their gods. I won't. My family and I are going to worship and obey the Lord ! 16 The people answered: We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the Lord . 17 The Lord is our God. We were slaves in Egypt as our ancestors had been, but we saw the Lord work miracles to set our people free and to bring us out of Egypt. Even though other nations were all around us, the Lord protected us wherever we went. 18 And when we fought the Amorites and the other nations that lived in this land, the Lord made them run away. Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord , because the Lord is our God. 19 Joshua said: The Lord is fearsome; he is the one true God, and I don't think you are able to worship and obey him in the ways he demands. You would have to be completely faithful, and if you sin or rebel, he won't let you get away with it. 20 If you turn your backs on the Lord and worship the gods of other nations, the Lord will turn against you. He will make terrible things happen to you and wipe you out, even though he had been good to you before. 21 But the people shouted, "We won't worship any other gods. We will worship and obey only the Lord !" 22 Joshua said, "You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the Lord . Isn't that true?" "Yes, it's true," they answered. 23 Joshua said, "But you still have some idols, like those the other nations worship. Get rid of your idols! You must decide once and for all that you really want to obey the Lord God of Israel." 24 The people said, "The Lord is our God, and we will worship and obey only him."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Ye are witnesses: Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of God's holiness, and the nature of his service - your own weakness, inconstancy, and insufficiency - your need of the Divine help, and the hope of assistance held out in the law - and the awful consequences of apostasy, and now ye make your choice. Remember then that ye are witnesses against yourselves; and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner. Deuteronomy 26:17, Job 15:6, Luke 19:22

ye have: Psalms 119:11, Psalms 119:173, Luke 10:42

Reciprocal: Exodus 24:3 - All the words Matthew 23:31 - witnesses Luke 11:48 - ye bear

Cross-References

Genesis 24:2
One day, Abraham called in his most trusted servant and said to him, "Solemnly promise me
Genesis 24:3
in the name of the Lord , who rules heaven and earth, that you won't choose a wife for my son Isaac from the people here in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 24:9
So the servant gave Abraham his word that he would do everything he had been told to do.
Genesis 24:10
Soon after that, the servant loaded ten of Abraham's camels with valuable gifts. Then he set out for the city in northern Syria, where Abraham's brother Nahor lived.
Genesis 24:11
When he got there, he let the camels rest near the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when the women came out for water.
Genesis 24:12
The servant prayed: You, Lord , are the God my master Abraham worships. Please keep your promise to him and let me find a wife for Isaac today.
Genesis 24:15
While he was still praying, a beautiful unmarried young woman came by with a water jar on her shoulder. She was Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. Rebekah walked past Abraham's servant, then went over to the well, and filled her water jar. When she started back,
Genesis 24:19
After he had finished, she said, "Now I'll give your camels all the water they want." She quickly poured out water for them, and she kept going back for more, until his camels had drunk all they wanted.
Genesis 24:23
Then he said, "Please tell me who your father is. Does he have room in his house for me and my men to spend the night?"
Genesis 24:47
I asked her who her father was, and she answered, "My father is Bethuel the son of Nahor and Milcah." Right away I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joshua said unto the people,.... In reply to their answer and resolution:

ye [are] witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen you the Lord God to serve him; that is, should they, after this choice of him, which they had so publicly declared, desert his service, and go into idolatry, their testimony would rise up against them, and they would, be self-condemned:

and they said, [we are] witnesses; should we ever apostatize from the Lord and his worship, we are content to have this our witness produced against us.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 24:22. Ye are witnesses against yourselves — Ye have been sufficiently apprised of the difficulties in your way - of GOD'S holiness - your own weakness and inconstancy - the need you have of Divine help, and the awful consequences of apostasy; and now ye deliberately make your choice. Remember then, that ye are witnesses against yourselves, and your own conscience will be witness, judge, and executioner; or, as one terms it, index, judex, vindex.


 
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