Joshua 24
1And Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and he called those greater by birth, and the leaders and judges and teachers. And they stood in the sight of the Lord.
2And he spoke to the people in this way: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Your fathers lived, in the beginning, across the river: Terah, the father of Abraham, and Nahor. And they served strange gods.
3Then I brought your father Abraham from the parts of Mesopotamia, and I led him into the land of Canaan. And I multiplied his offspring,
4and I gave to him Isaac. And to him, I gave again Jacob and Esau. And I gave mount Seir to Esau as a possession. Yet truly, Jacob and his sons descended into Egypt.
5And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and portents.
6And I led you and your fathers away from Egypt, and you arrived at the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.
7Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. And he stationed a darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he led the sea over them, and he covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8And I led you into the land of the Amorite, who was living beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and you put them to death.
9Then Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam, the son of Beor, so that he might curse you.
10And I was not willing to listen to him, but on the contrary, I blessed you through him, and I freed you from his hand.
11And you crossed over the Jordan, and you arrived at Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you: the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. And I delivered them into your hands.
12And I sent wasps before you. And I drove them from their places, the two kings of the Amorites, but not by your sword, and not by your bow.
13And I gave you a land, in which you did not labor, and cities, which you did not build, so that you might live in them, and vineyards and olive groves, which you did not plant.’
14Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and very sincere heart. And take away the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15But if it seems evil to you that you would serve the Lord, a choice is given to you. Choose today what pleases you, and whom you ought to serve above all else, either the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16And the people responded, and they said: “Far be it from us that we would forsake the Lord, and serve foreign gods.
17The Lord our God himself led us and our fathers away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. And he accomplished immense signs in our sight, and he preserved us along the entire way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.
18And he cast out all the nations, the Amorite, the inhabitant of the land that we entered. And so, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19And Joshua said to the people: “You will not be able to serve the Lord. For he is a holy and powerful God, and he is jealous, and he will not ignore your wickedness and sins.
20If you leave behind the Lord, and you serve foreign gods, he will turn himself, and he will afflict you, and he will overthrow you, after all the good that he has offered to you.”
21And the people said to Joshua, “By no means will it be as you are saying, but we will serve the Lord.”
22And Joshua said to the people, “You yourselves are witnesses, that you have chosen the Lord so that you may serve him.” And they answered, “We are witnesses.”
23“Now therefore,” he said, “take away strange gods from among yourselves, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his precepts.”
25Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments.
26He also wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord. And he took a very great stone, and he stationed it under the oak that was in the Sanctuary of the Lord.
27And he said to all the people, “Lo, this stone shall be to you as a testimony, which has heard all the words of the Lord that he has spoken to you, lest perhaps, afterward, you might choose to deny it, and to lie to the Lord your God.”
28And he dismissed the people, each one to their own possession.
29And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
30And they buried him within the borders of his possession at Timnath-Serah, which is situated on mount Ephraim, before the northern side of mount Gaash.
31And Israel served the Lord during all the days of Joshua, and of the elders who lived for a long time after Joshua, and who had known all the works of the Lord that he had accomplished in Israel.
32And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel had brought from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a portion of the field that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred young female sheep, and so it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.
33Likewise, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died. And they buried him at Gibeah, which belongs to Phinehas, his son, and which was given to him on mount Ephraim.
1And 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.
2And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
4And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
6And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
7And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
8And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
10But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
12And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
13And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
14Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
17For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.
19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
24And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
28So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
29And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath–serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
31And 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.
32And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.