Joshua 24:15 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Joshua 24:15 reads: "If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”" — from the Old Testament, Joshua (Historical narrative). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Joshua 24:15 is in the book of Joshua, traditionally attributed to Joshua (substantially) and written around c. 1400 BC. Joshua is historical narrative in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Israel after the conquest. Best known for the fall of Jericho and "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD".

Joshua 24:15 is primarily a Bible verse about Faith, with related themes including Family. Within Joshua, Joshua records Israel's entry into the Promised Land — the Jordan crossing, the fall of Jericho, the campaigns of conquest, and the allotment of tribal territories. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Joshua 24:15 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "And if it seem evil7489 unto you4310 to serve5647 the LORD3068, choose977 you this day3117 whom5869 ye will serve5647; whether the gods430 which your fathers1 served5647 that were on the other side5676 of the flood5104, or the gods430 of the Amorites567, in whose land776 ye dwell3427: but as for me and my house1004, we will serve5647 the LORD3068.". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Joshua 24:15 is 49 words in the WEB translation (250 characters), broken into 7 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 15 seconds.

To memorise Joshua 24:15, split it into its 7 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Joshua records Israel's entry into the Promised Land — the Jordan crossing, the fall of Jericho, the campaigns of conquest, and the allotment of tribal territories. It is bookended by God's charge to "be strong and courageous" (1:9) and Joshua's closing call: "Choose this day whom you will serve" (24:15). Joshua 24:15 sits within this larger story — Joshua as a whole emphasises conquest, faithfulness, inheritance.

Many readers use Joshua 24:15 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Joshua 24:15 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.