If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 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 the Lord.”
Sin autem malum vobis videtur ut Domino serviatis, optio vobis datur: eligite hodie quod placet, cui servire potissimum debeatis: utrum diis, quibus servierunt patres vestri in Mesopotamia, an diis Amorrhæorum, in quorum terra habitatis: ego autem et domus mea serviemus Domino.Josue 24:15 · Clementine Vulgate
Explanation — not a translation
In brief
Near the end of his life Joshua gathers all Israel and puts a choice before them: serve the LORD, or serve other gods. Then he states his own decision: “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” It is a personal commitment made in public, and an invitation for others to make theirs.
The setting
Joshua 24 takes place at Shechem, a place already rich in memory: it was where God first promised the land to Abraham (Genesis 12:6–7), and where Jacob buried the foreign gods his household gave up (Genesis 35:2–4). Joshua is old, and the land has been settled. Before he dies he calls the tribes, their elders and leaders to present themselves “before God” (Joshua 24:1).
He begins not with a demand but with a story. Speaking for God, he recounts what God has done: calling Abraham out of a family that “served other gods,” bringing Israel out of Egypt, and giving them a land they had not worked for.
I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’ “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve the Lord.
Dedique vobis terram, in qua non laborastis, et urbes quas non ædificastis, ut habitaretis in eis: vineas, et oliveta, quæ non plantastis. Nunc ergo timete Dominum, et servite ei perfecto corde atque verissimo: et auferte deos quibus servierunt patres vestri in Mesopotamia et in Ægypto, ac servite Domino.Josue 24:13–14 · Clementine Vulgate
“I gave you a land on which you had not labored” — and therefore: serve the LORD in sincerity and in truth.
The choice
If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 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 the Lord.”
Sin autem malum vobis videtur ut Domino serviatis, optio vobis datur: eligite hodie quod placet, cui servire potissimum debeatis: utrum diis, quibus servierunt patres vestri in Mesopotamia, an diis Amorrhæorum, in quorum terra habitatis: ego autem et domus mea serviemus Domino.Josue 24:15 · Clementine Vulgate
Joshua’s words are pointed. He does not offer a choice between the LORD and nothing. He names the realistic alternatives: the gods of their ancestors “beyond the River,” or the gods of the land where they now live. Everyone serves something. The question is whom.
The people answer that they will serve the LORD. Joshua surprisingly pushes back: “You can’t serve the LORD, for He is a holy God” (Joshua 24:19). He wants them to know the weight of the promise. They insist, and the chapter ends with a covenant, a written record and a large stone set up as a witness (Joshua 24:25–27).
“My house”
In ancient Israel a “house” meant a household: spouse, children, often extended family and servants, all under the head of the family. Joshua speaks as a leader of such a household, committing it publicly. His declaration also models leadership: he does not wait to see what the crowd will decide before he says where he stands.
What it does and doesn’t mean
Today the verse is displayed in homes, on plaques over doors and in wedding vows, as a family’s statement of faith. That use fits the text well: Joshua speaks of a household choosing God together, and Israel was taught to pass faith on at home (Deuteronomy 6:6–9).
Two cautions keep the verse honest. First, a declaration is not a guarantee: one generation after Joshua, Israel “didn’t know the LORD” (Judges 2:10). Faith must be chosen again by each generation; a plaque on the wall cannot do that for anyone. Second, the verse is not a promise that every member of a household will share the faith. Many faithful parents grieve children who have chosen differently. Joshua’s words express his commitment, not control over other people’s hearts.
How Christians read it
Christians of every tradition use the verse to describe a home built around God. Catholic teaching, following the Second Vatican Council, calls the family a “domestic church,” where faith is first learned and prayed; many Protestant traditions speak in similar terms of family worship and the Christian home. The New Testament also tells of whole households coming to faith together (for example Acts 16:31–34).
Read it with
Joshua 1:9, at the start of Joshua’s leadership, is explained here. Deuteronomy 30:19–20 sets a similar choice before Israel: “choose life.” Psalm 127:1 reminds builders of houses who really builds them. The Love & relationships and Faith pages gather related passages.