Joshua 24

1 Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem. Then he called the elders, leaders, judges, and officials and they came and stood before the Tabernacle of God.

And Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; and he 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 Joshua said to all the people, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Long, long ago your forefathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods.

And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, On the other side of the river did your fathers dwell in old time, even Terach, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods.

3 I brought your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through all the land of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac.

And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, and I led him throughout all the land of Canaan; and I multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau. I gave to Esau the hill country of Seir to own, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

And 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.

5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought plagues on the people of Egypt, and I brought you out.

And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt in the manner as I have done among them; and after that I brought you out.

6 Yes, I brought your forefathers out, but when you arrived at the Red Sea the Egyptians were chasing after your forefathers with chariots and horsemen.

And 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.

7 Your forefathers called out to the Lord for help, and he placed darkness between you and the Egyptians. Then he brought the sea back over them and they drowned. You saw what I did with your own eyes in Egypt. Then you lived for many years in the wilderness.

And they cried unto the Lord, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I had done on Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days.

8 After that I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought against you but I handed them over to you to defeat and you took over their land. I destroyed them before you.

And I brought you into the land of the Emorites, that dwelt on the other side of the Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, and ye took possession of their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

9 When Balak, son of Zippor, the king of Moab, wanted to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam, son of Beor, to come and curse you.

Then Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel; and he sent and called Bil'am the son of Beor to curse you;

10 But I wasn't willing to listen to Balaam, so instead he blessed you repeatedly, and saved you from Balak.

And I would not hearken unto Bil'am; but he had to bless you instead: and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 You crossed the Jordan and arrived at Jericho where the men of Jericho fought against you. So did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

And ye passed over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho; and then fought the men of Jericho against you, the Emorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I gave them up into your hand.

12 But I handed them over to you to defeat. And I sent the hornet before you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. You did not win using your swords or your bows!

And I sent before you the hornet which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Emorites: not with thy sword, and not with thy bow.

13 I gave you a land you didn't work for and towns you didn't build. Now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves you didn't plant.’

And I gave you a land for which ye had not toiled, and cities which ye had not built, and ye dwell in them; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

14 So respect the Lord and worship him, sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and worship the Lord.

Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

15 But if you don't want to worship the Lord, choose today who you want to worship! Is it going to be the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the Euphrates? Or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you're now living? But as for me and my family, we will worship the Lord!”

And if it be displeasing in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom ye will serve: whether the gods which your fathers that were on the other side of the river served, or the gods of the Emorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

16 The people responded, “We are never going to give up on the Lord and worship other gods!

And the people answered and said, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;

17 For the Lord our God brought us and our forefathers out of slavery in Egypt. He was the one who did great miracles before our very eyes. He looked after us on the way as we traveled through the lands of many nations.

For the Lord our God it is that hath brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and who hath done those great signs before our eyes, and preserved us upon all the way whereon we have gone, and among all the people through the midst of whom we have passed:

18 The Lord drove out before us the Amorites and all the other nations who were living in the land. So we will worship the Lord, for he is our God!”

And the Lord hath driven out all the nations, and the Emorites who dwelt in the land, from before us; therefore also will we serve the Lord; for he is our God.

19 Joshua told the people, “Remember that the Lord is a holy and jealous God. You won't be able to worship him, and he won't forgive your rebellion and sins

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye will not be able to serve the Lord; for he is a holy God; he is a watchful God; he will not have any indulgence for your transgressions and for your sins;

20 if you give up on him and worship foreign gods. He will turn against you and destroy you despite all the good he has done for you.”

If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then will he again do ye evil, and consume ye, after that he hath done you good.

21 “Don't say that!” the people replied. “We will worship the Lord!”

And the people said unto Joshua, No; nevertheless the Lord will we serve.

22 Then Joshua cautioned the people, “You have made yourselves witnesses against yourselves by saying that you have chosen to worship the Lord.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” the people replied.

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye yourselves have chosen for you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

23 “Then get rid of those foreign gods you have and promise to be loyal only to the Lord, the God of Israel,” Joshua told them.

And now put away the strange gods which are in the midst of you, and incline your heart unto the Lord the God of Israel.

24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and we will obey him.”

And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

25 So Joshua made a solemn agreement between the people and the Lord that day in Shechem, obligating them to follow all the Lord's laws and instructions.

And Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

26 Joshua recorded this in the Book of the Law of God, and he set up a large stone under the oak tree near the Lord's sanctuary.

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 the Lord.

27 Joshua said to the people, “Look at this stone. It stands here as a witness against us for it has heard everything the Lord has told us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny what you have promised your God.”

And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be among us as a witness; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spoke unto us: it shall be therefore as a witness against you, that ye may not deny your God.

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, sending them to their allotted lands.

And Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

29 Later, after all this, Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten.

And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, one hundred and ten years old.

30 They buried him in Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash, the land he had been allocated.

And they buried him on the border of his inheritance at Timnath-serach, which is on the mountain of Ephraim, on the north side of mount Ga'ash.

31 The Israelites continued to worship the Lord throughout Joshua's life, and throughout the lifetimes of the elders who outlived him, those who had seen all that the Lord had done for Israel.

And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived many days after Joshua, and who had known all the deeds of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.

32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought with them from Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the piece of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of silver. This land was inherited by Joseph's sons.

And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in a parcel of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Chamor the father of Shechem for one hundred kessitah: and it remained the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

33 And Eleazar, son of Aaron, died and they buried him at Gibeah, in the hill country of Ephraim, land which had been given to his son Phinehas.

And Elazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him on the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the mountain of Ephraim.