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Good News Translation

Joshua 24:22

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."

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."
Contemporary English Version
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.
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.
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 If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord ." 16 The people replied, "We would never leave the Lord to serve other gods! 17 The Lord our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed. 18 As we advanced into this land, the Lord drove out all the Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the Lord ; he is our God." 19 Joshua said to the people, "But you may not be able to serve the Lord . He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals, 20 and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before." 21 The people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve the Lord ." 22 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." 23 "Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have," he demanded, "and pledge your loyalty to the Lord , the God of Israel." 24 The people then said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey his commands."

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
He said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, "Place your hand between my thighs and make a vow.
Genesis 24:3
I want you to make a vow in the name of the Lord , the God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the people here in Canaan.
Genesis 24:9
So the servant put his hand between the thighs of Abraham, his master, and made a vow to do what Abraham had asked.
Genesis 24:10
The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern Mesopotamia.
Genesis 24:11
When he arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water.
Genesis 24:12
He prayed, " Lord , God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master.
Genesis 24:15
Before he had finished praying, Rebecca arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah.
Genesis 24:16
She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back.
Genesis 24:19
When he had finished, she said, "I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want."
Genesis 24:23
He said, "Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?"

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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