Joshua 24 · Verse 27

Joshua 24:27

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
Joshua 24:27, King James Version

Joshua 24:27 in other translations

BSBAnd Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
WEBJoshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the LORD’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”
ASVAnd Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.
YLTAnd Joshua saith unto all the people, ‘Lo, this stone is against us for a witness, for it hath heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He hath spoken with us, and it hath been against you for a witness, lest ye lie against your God.'
DARBYAnd Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spoke unto us; and it shall be a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.
BBEAnd Joshua said to all the people, See now, this stone is to be a witness against us; for all the words of the Lord have been said to us in its hearing: so it will be a witness against you if you are false to the Lord your God.
WebsterAnd Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke to us, it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest ye deny your God.

What does Joshua 24:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 24:14-28

14-28. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth--After having enumerated so many grounds for national gratitude, Joshua calls on them to declare, in a public and solemn manner, whether they will be faithful and obedient to the God of Israel. He avowed this to be his own unalterable resolution, and urged them, if they were sincere in making a similar avowal, "to put away the strange gods…

Read the full comment on Joshua 24:14-28 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 This stone - hath heard all the words - That is, the stone itself, from its permanency, shall be in all succeeding ages as competent and as substantial a witness as one who had been present at the transaction, and heard all the words which on both sides were spoken on the occasion.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 24:15-28

It is essential that the service of God's people be performed with a willing mind. For LOVE is the only genuine principle whence all acceptable service of God can spring. The Father seeks only such to worship him, as worship him in spirit and in truth. The carnal mind of man is enmity against God, therefore, is not capable of such spiritual worship. Hence the necessity of being born again. But numbers rest in mere…

Read the full comment on Joshua 24:15-28 →

Joshua 24:27 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַye.ho.Shu.a'JoshuaH3091
אֶל\־'el-toH413
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הָעָ֗םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
הִנֵּ֨הhi.Nehhere!H2009
הָאֶ֤בֶןha.'E.venthe stoneH68
הַזֹּאת֙ha.zoT<the> thisH2063
תִּֽהְיֶה\־tih.yeh-it will becomeH1961
בָּ֣נוּBa.nuon <the> us
לְעֵדָ֔הle.'e.Dah<into> a witnessH5713
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
הִ֣יאhi'itH1931
שָׁמְעָ֗הsha.me.'Ahit has heardH8085
אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>H853
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
אִמְרֵ֣י'im.Rei[the] words ofH561
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
דִּבֶּ֖רdi.Berhe has spokenH1696
עִמָּ֑נוּ'i.Ma.nuwith usH5973
וְהָיְתָ֤הve.ha.ye.Tahand it will becomeH1961
בָכֶם֙va.Khemon <the> you
לְעֵדָ֔הle.'e.Dah<into> a witnessH5713
פֶּֽן\־pen-lestH6435
תְּכַחֲשׁ֖וּןte.kha.cha.Shunyou should deny !H3584
בֵּאלֹהֵיכֶֽם\׃be.lo.hei.Khem<in> God yourH430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 24:27

  • Luke 19:40

    And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

  • Joshua 22:34

    And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God.

  • Deuteronomy 31:26

    Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

  • Matthew 10:33

    But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

  • Joshua 22:27-28

    But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord. Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.

  • Deuteronomy 31:21

    And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

  • Job 31:23

    For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

  • 2 Timothy 2:12-13

    If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

  • Deuteronomy 32:1

    Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

  • Proverbs 30:9

    Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

  • Isaiah 1:2

    Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

  • 1 Samuel 7:12

    Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben–ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A curious coincidence of circumstances is related by Livy, the Roman historian: he writes that "when three ambassadors were sent from Rome to complain of the perfidious conduct of the Æqui, the General informed them, that they might deliver their message to an oak which shaded his tent." On this one of the ambassadors turning away, said, "This venerable oak, and all the gods, shall know that you have violated the peace; they shall now hear our complaints; and may they also soon be witnesses, when we revenge with our arms the violation of divine and human rights." It is worthy of remark that Joshua merely set up a pillar under an oak,--the one, perhaps, to protect the other; while the General directed the ambassadors to address the oak, perhaps with an idolatrous feeling that they were addressing one of the gods, who would aid his cause; while the Roman ambassadors caught the feeling, and really invoked the aid of the oak and the gods.
22:27,28,34; Ge 31:44-52; De 4:26; 30:19; 31:19,21,26; 1Sa 7:12
it hath.
De 32:1; Isa 1:2; Hab 2:11; Lu 19:40
deny.
Job 31:23; Pr 30:9; Mt 10:33; 2Ti 2:12,13; Tit 1:16; Re 3:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 24:26

    And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

  • Joshua 24:27

    And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

  • Joshua 24:28

    So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

Read all of Joshua 24

Joshua 24:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Josué á todo el pueblo: He aquí esta piedra será entre nosotros por testigo, la cual ha oído todas las palabras de Jehová que él ha hablado con nosotros: será, pues, testigo contra vosotros, porque no mintáis contra vuestro Dios.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et Josué dit à tout le peuple: Voici, cette pierre sera témoin contre nous, car elle a entendu toutes les paroles de l’ Éternel, qu’il nous a dites; et elle sera témoin contre vous, de peur que vous ne reniiez votre Dieu.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Josua sprach zu dem ganzen Volke: Siehe, dieser Stein soll Zeuge gegen uns sein; denn er hat alle Worte Jehovas gehört, die er mit uns geredet hat; und er soll Zeuge gegen euch sein, damit ihr euren Gott nicht verleugnet.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et dixit ad omnem populum: En lapis iste erit vobis in testimonium, quod audierit omnia verba Domini, quæ locutus est vobis: ne forte postea negare velitis, et mentiri Domino Deo vestro.