Memorize Joshua 24:15

Douay-Rheims 1899

But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15, Douay-Rheims 1899

59 words · a five-day project, a phrase or two at a time ·

Start memorizing Joshua 24:15 →

Free, no account, nothing to install. The path opens with this verse already in it. Or print it: a copywork sheet to write it out by hand, a sheet of wallet cards, take-home slips or bulletin cards for a church's verse of the week, each with a code back to this page.

The five steps

  1. Meet the verse. Hear it read aloud, then echo it phrase by phrase, with a small hand motion for each phrase.
  2. Fill the gaps. About a third of the words become blanks. Say it out loud, supplying them; peek if you need to, trying is the point.
  3. Half hidden. Most of the words are gone now. Say it once more at bedtime; sleep locks it in overnight.
  4. First letters. Every word reduced to its first letter. Recite it with only those to guide you.
  5. All by yourself. Nothing but the reference. One confident recite, then it goes into your Verse Book to come back for review.

Each step makes a fine "tonight's step" spread over five days, and nothing is locked: the numbered dots jump anywhere. How to memorize Bible verses walks through the whole method.

Why it works

Three of the most replicated findings in learning science: retrieval practice (pulling a word from memory strengthens it more than rereading it), spacing (short tries on separate days beat one long one), and sleep (a verse said at bedtime is consolidated overnight). The blanks grow in stages so that every try is hard enough to count and never so hard that you give up.

Joshua 24:15 in context

At Shechem Joshua recounts God’s gracious acts from Abraham through the conquest and calls Israel to choose whom they will serve. The people pledge loyalty, a covenant is made, and a stone becomes witness. Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar are buried.

Read Joshua 24:15 in its chapter · Joshua 24, in the Douay-Rheims 1899.

Verses that keep it company

In other translations

The reference is the same in every one; the path lets you switch mid-way, and pasting any wording you like works too.