Joshua 24

1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.3 And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it: and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof: and afterward I brought you out.6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea.7 And when they cried out unto Jehovah, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days.8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;10 but I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.11 And ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.13 And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not labored, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell therein; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

14 Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah.15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.

16 And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;17 for Jehovah our God, he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed;18 and Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land: therefore we also will serve Jehovah; for he is our God.

19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins.20 If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah.22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.23 Now therefore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the God of Israel.24 And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken.25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah.27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance.

29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old.30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.31 And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Jehovah, that he had wrought for Israel.

32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.

Joshua 24

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God.2 Joshua told all the people, “Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestorst lived beyond the Euphrates River,t including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshipedt other gods,3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphratest and brought him intot the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac,4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned Mount Seir,t while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt down when I intervened in their land.t Then I brought you out.6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.7 Your fatherst cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark,t and then drowned them in the sea.t You witnessed with your very own eyest what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time.t8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought with you, but I handed them over to you; you conqueredt their land and I destroyed them from before you.9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attackt against Israel. He summonedt Balaam son of Beor to call down judgmentt on you.10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he keptt prophesying good things aboutt you, and I rescued you from his power.t11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.s The leaderst of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you.12 I sent terrort ahead of you to drive out before you the twot Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows.t

13 I gave you a land int which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce oft vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’
14 Nows obeyt the Lord and worshipt him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestorst worshipedt beyond the Euphratest and in Egypt and worshipt the Lord.

15 If you have no desiret to worshipt the Lord, choose today whom you will worship,t whether it be the gods whom your ancestorst worshipedt beyond the Euphrates,t or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my familyt will worshipt the Lord!”
16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we cant worshipt other gods!17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slaveryt in the land of Egyptt and performed these awesome miraclest before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.t

18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worshipt the Lord, for he is our God!”
19 Joshua warnedt the people, “You will not keep worshipingt the Lord, fors he is a holy God.t He is a jealous God who will not forgivets your rebellion or your sins.

20 Ift you abandon the Lord and worshipt foreign gods, he will turn against you;t he will bring disaster on you and destroy you,t though he once treated you well.”t
21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really willt worshipt the Lord!”22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?”t They replied, “We are witnesses!”s

23 Joshua said,t “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit tot the Lord God of Israel.”

24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worshipt the Lord our God and obey him.”t
25 That day Joshua drew up an agreementt for the people, and he established rules and regulationst for them in Shechem.26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine.27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us.t It will be a witness against you ift you deny your God.”

28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land.t

An Era Ends

29 After all thist Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten.30 They buried him in his allotted territoryt in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel worshipedt the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive.t These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel.t

32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money.t So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph.t

33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land.t