Joshua 24

1 And 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.

And Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and calls for [the] elderly of Israel, and for his heads, and for his judges, and for his authorities, and they station themselves before God.

2 And 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.

And Joshua says to all the people, “Thus said YHWH, God of Israel: Beyond the River your fathers have dwelt of old—Terah father of Abraham and father of Nachor—and they serve other gods;

3 Then I brought your father Abraham from the parts of Mesopotamia, and I led him into the land of Canaan. And I multiplied his offspring,

and I take your father Abraham from beyond the River, and cause him to go through all the land of Canaan, and multiply his seed, and give Isaac to him.

4 and 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.

And I give Jacob and Esau to Isaac; and I give Mount Seir to Esau, to possess it; and Jacob and his sons have gone down to Egypt.

5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and portents.

And I send Moses and Aaron, and plague Egypt, as I have done in its midst, and afterward I have brought you out.

6 And 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.

And I bring out your fathers from Egypt, and you go to the sea, and the Egyptians pursue after your fathers, with chariot and with horsemen, to the Red Sea;

7 Then 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.

and they cry to YHWH, and He sets thick darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brings the sea over him, and covers them, and your eyes see that which I have done in Egypt; and you dwell in a wilderness [for] many days.

8 And 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.

And I bring you into the land of the Amorite who is dwelling beyond the Jordan, and they fight with you, and I give them into your hand, and you possess their land, and I destroy them out of your presence.

9 Then 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.

And Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rises and fights against Israel, and sends and calls for Balaam son of Beor, to revile you,

10 And I was not willing to listen to him, but on the contrary, I blessed you through him, and I freed you from his hand.

and I have not been willing to listen to Balaam, and he greatly blesses you, and I deliver you out of his hand.

11 And 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.

And you pass over the Jordan, and come to Jericho, and the possessors of Jericho fight against you—the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—and I give them into your hand.

12 And 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.

And I send the hornet before you, and it casts them out from your presence—two kings of the Amorite—not by your sword, nor by your bow.

13 And 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.’

And I give a land to you for which you have not labored, and cities which you have not built, and you dwell in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive-yards which you have not planted.

14 Now 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.

And now, fear YHWH, and serve Him, in perfection and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve YHWH;

15 But 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.”

and if [it is] wrong in your eyes to serve YHWH—choose for yourselves today whom you serve—whether the gods whom your fathers served, which [are] beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land you are dwelling; but me and my house—we serve YHWH.”

16 And the people responded, and they said: “Far be it from us that we would forsake the Lord, and serve foreign gods.

And the people answer and say, “Far be it from us to forsake YHWH, to serve other gods;

17 The 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.

for our God YHWH [is] He who is bringing us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants, and who has done these great signs before our eyes, and keeps us in all the way in which we have gone, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed;

18 And 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.”

and YHWH casts out the whole of the peoples, even the Amorite inhabiting the land, from our presence; we also serve YHWH, for He [is] our God.”

19 And 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.

And Joshua says to the people, “You are not able to serve YHWH, for He [is] a most holy God; He [is] a zealous God; He does not bear with your transgression and with your sins.

20 If 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.”

When you forsake YHWH, and have served gods of a stranger, then He has turned back and done harm to you, and consumed you, after that He has done good to you.”

21 And the people said to Joshua, “By no means will it be as you are saying, but we will serve the Lord.”

And the people say to Joshua, “No, but we serve YHWH!”

22 And 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.”

And Joshua says to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves, that you have chosen YHWH for yourselves, to serve Him,” and they say, “Witnesses!”

23 “Now therefore,” he said, “take away strange gods from among yourselves, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

“And now, turn aside the gods of the stranger which [are] in your midst, and incline your heart to YHWH, God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his precepts.”

And the people say to Joshua, “We serve our God YHWH, and we listen to His voice.”

25 Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments.

And Joshua makes a covenant with the people on that day, and lays a statute and an ordinance on it, in Shechem.

26 He 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.

And Joshua writes these words in the Scroll of the Law of God, and takes a great stone, and raises it up there under the oak which [is] in the sanctuary of YHWH.

27 And 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.”

And Joshua says to all the people, “Behold, this stone is for a witness against us, for it has heard all the sayings of YHWH which He has spoken with us, and it has been for a witness against you, lest you lie against your God.”

28 And he dismissed the people, each one to their own possession.

And Joshua sends the people away, each to his inheritance.

29 And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

And it comes to pass, after these things, that Joshua son of Nun, servant of YHWH, dies, a son of one hundred and ten years,

30 And 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.

and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Serah, which [is] in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the hill of Gaash.

31 And 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.

And Israel serves YHWH all [the] days of Joshua, and all [the] days of the elderly who prolonged days after Joshua, and who knew all the work of YHWH which He did to Israel.

32 And 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.

And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, with one hundred kesitah; and they are for an inheritance to the sons of Joseph.

33 Likewise, 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.

And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they bury him in a hill of his son Phinehas, which was given to him in the hill-country of Ephraim.