Bible Strands
Joshua 24:31
Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua addresses the assembled tribes of Israel at Shechem during his final covenant renewal address, immediately before his death and burial.
The words — וַ/יַּעֲבֹ֤ד (va/yiʿaḇōd) literally means “and he/they served,” while יְמֵ֣י (yəmê) translates as “the days of,” anchoring the covenant action to a defined historical period.
The thread — The identical phrasing closes Judges 2:7 to mark the end of that era, while Deuteronomy 31:13 and 11:2 establish the broader biblical pattern of generations learning obedience through direct witness to God’s works.
Why it lands — The text records a concrete historical period of sustained covenant faithfulness before the narrative shifts to generational decline, requiring the reader to note how direct experience of divine acts functions as the baseline for communal obedience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.
Cross-references
- Judges 2:7 And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel.
- Deuteronomy 31:13 Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
- Deuteronomy 11:2 Know this day that it is not your children who have known and seen the discipline of the LORD your God: His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm;
- Deuteronomy 31:29 For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”
- Deuteronomy 11:7 For it is your own eyes that have seen every great work that the LORD has done.
- 2 Chronicles 24:2 And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
- 2 Chronicles 24:17 After the death of Jehoiada, however, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them.
- Acts 20:29 I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
- Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.