Joshua 24

1 And Joshua gathered all the tribe of Israel to Selo, and convoked their elders, and their officers, and their judges, and set them before God.

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.

2 And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers at first sojourned beyond the river, [even] Thara, the father of Abraam and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods.

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.

3 And I took your father Abraam from the other side of the river, and I guided him through all the land, and I multiplied his seed;

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,

4 and I gave to him Isaac, and to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau mount Seir for him to inherit: and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt, and became there a great and populous and mighty nation: and the Egyptians afflicted them.

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.

5 And I struck Egypt with the wonders that I wrought among them.

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

6 And afterwards [God] brought out our fathers from Egypt, and you entered into the Red Sea; and the Egyptians pursued after our fathers with chariots and horses into the Red Sea.

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.

7 And we cried aloud to the Lord; and he put a cloud and darkness between us and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in the land of Egypt; and you were in the wilderness many days.

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.

8 And he brought us into the land of the Amorites that lived beyond Jordan, and the Lord delivered them into our hands; and you inherited their land, and utterly destroyed them from before you.

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.

9 And Balac, king of Moab, son of Sepphor, rose up, and made war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam to curse us.

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.

10 But the Lord your God would not destroy you; and he greatly blessed us, and rescued us out of their hands, and delivered them [to us].

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.

11 And you crossed over Jordan, and came to Jericho; and the inhabitants of Jericho fought against us, the Amorite, and the Chananite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite, and the Chettite, and the Gergesite, and the Lord delivered them into our hands.

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.

12 And he sent forth the hornet before you; and he drove them out from before you, [even] twelve kings of the Amorites, not with your sword, nor with your bow.

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.

13 And he gave you a land on which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you were settled in them; and you eat [of] vineyards and olive yards which you did not plant.

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.’

14 And now fear the Lord, and serve him in righteousness and justice; and remove the strange gods, which our fathers served beyond the river, and in Egypt; and serve the Lord.

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.

15 But if it seem not good to you to serve the Lord, choose to yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, among whom you dwell upon their land: but I and my house will serve the Lord, for he is holy.

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.”

16 And the people answered and said, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord, so as to serve other gods.

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

17 The Lord our God, he is God; he brought up us and our fathers from Egypt, and kept us in all the way wherein we walked, and among all the nations through whom we passed.

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.

18 And the Lord cast out the Amorite, and all the nations that inhabited the land from before us: yes, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.

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.”

19 And Joshua said to the people, Indeed you will not be able to serve the Lord, for God is holy; and he being jealous will not forgive your sins and your transgressions.

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.

20 Whenever you shall forsake the Lord and serve other gods, then he shall come upon you and afflict you, and consume you, because he has done you good.

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.”

21 And the people said to Joshua, Nay, but we will serve the Lord.

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

22 And Joshua said to the people, You [are] witnesses against yourselves, that you have chosen the Lord to serve him.

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.”

23 And now take away the strange gods that are among you, and set your heart right toward the Lord God of Israel.

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

24 And the people said to Joshua, We will serve the Lord, and we will listen to his voice.

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

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and gave them a law and an ordinance in Selo before the tabernacle of the God of Israel.

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

26 And he wrote these words in the book of the laws of God: and Joshua took a great stone, and set it up under the oak before the Lord.

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.

27 And Joshua said to the people, Behold, this stone shall be among you for a witness, for it has heard all the words that have been spoken to it by the Lord; for he has spoken to you this day; and this [stone] shall be among you for a witness in the last days, whenever you shall deal falsely with the Lord my God.

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.”

28 And Joshua dismissed the people, and they went every man to his place.

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

29 And it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Naue the servant of the Lord died, [at the age] of a hundred and ten years.

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

30 And they buried him by the borders of his inheritance in Thamnasarach in the mount of Ephraim, northward of the mount of Galaad.

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.

31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that lived as long as Joshua, and all that knew all the works of the Lord which he wrought for Israel.

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.

32 And the children of Israel brought up the bones of Joseph out of Egypt, and buried [them] in Sicima, in the portion of the land which Jacob bought of the Amorites who lived in Sicima for a hundred ewe-lambs; and he gave it to Joseph for a portion.

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.

33 And it came to pass afterwards that Eleazar the high-priest the son of Aaron died, and was buried in Gabaar of Phinees his son, which he gave him in mount Ephraim.

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.