24:2a

And: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces the next event in the storyline. Introduce this next event in a way that is natural in your language.

Joshua said to all the people: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Then Joshua told all the people
-or-
Then Joshua said to everyone

24:2b

This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: This part of the verse indicates that what Joshua was going to tell them was a message that had God’s authority.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says:
-or-
Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this:

24:2c

your fathers: The phrase your fathers refers to the ancestors of the Israelite people.

Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor: Terah was an important ancestor of the Israelite people. He was the father of Abraham, whom God called to leave his country and form a new nation.

lived beyond the Euphrates: The word lived indicates that these people lived a long time ago.

beyond the Euphrates: Their ancestors lived on the east side of the Euphrates River. Joshua and the people were now far away from the Euphrates River on its west side.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Long ago your ancestors lived on the east side of the Euphrates River.
-or-
A long time ago your ancestors lived ⌊way over there⌋ on the other side of the Euphrates River.

and worshiped other gods: The clause and worshiped other gods indicates that Terah as well as other ancestors of the Israelites did not worship Yahweh. They worshiped other, different, gods.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

This included Terah, who was the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped other gods.
-or-
including Terah who was the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped foreign gods.

General Comment on 24:2

In some languages it may be more natural to reorder the parts of this verse. For example:

Then Joshua told everyone to listen to this message from the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods. This continued until the time of your ancestor Terah and his two sons, Abraham and Nahor. (Contemporary English Version)

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