Joshua 24
1 And Josue gaderide alle the lynagis of Israel in to Sechem; and he clepide the grettere men in birthe, and the princes, and iugis, and maistris; and thei stoden in the siyt of the Lord.
And Ioshua assembled againe all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called the Elders of Israel, and their heades, and their iudges, and their officers, and they presented themselues before God.
2 And he spak thus to the puple, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Youre fadris dwelliden at the bigynnyng biyende the flood Eufrates, Thare, the fadir of Abraham, and Nachor, and thei serueden alien goddis.
Then Ioshua said vnto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt beyond the flood in olde time, euen Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor, and serued other gods.
3 Therfor Y took youre fadir Abraham fro the coostis of Mesopotanye, and Y brouyte hym in to the lond of Canaan; and Y multipliede `the seed of hym,
And I tooke your father Abraham from beyond the flood, and brought him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seede, and gaue him Izhak.
4 and Y yaf Isaac to hym; and eft Y yaf to Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, of whiche Y yaf to Esau the hil of Seir, to `haue in possessioun; forsothe Jacob and hise sones yeden doun in to Egipt.
And I gaue vnto Izhak, Iaakob and Esau: and I gaue vnto Esau mount Seir, to possesse it: but Iaakob and his children went downe into Egypt.
5 And Y sente Moises and Aaron, and Y smoot Egipt with many signes and wondris,
I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt: and when I had so done among them, I brought you out.
6 and Y ledde you and youre fadris out of Egipt. And ye camen to the see, and Egipcians pursueden youre fadris with charis, and multitude of knyytis, `til to the Reed See.
So I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ye came vnto the Sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with charets and horsemen vnto the red sea.
7 Forsothe the sones of Israel crieden to the Lord, and he settide derknessis bitwixe you and Egipcians; and he brouyte the see on hem, and hilide hem. Youre iyen sien alle thingis, whiche Y dide in Egipt. And ye dwelliden in wildirnesse in myche tyme.
Then they cryed vnto the Lord, and he put a darkenesse betweene you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea vpon them, and couered them: so your eyes haue seene what I haue done in Egypt also ye dwelt in the wildernesse a long season.
8 And Y brouyte you in to the lond of Ammorrei, that dwellide biyende Jordan; and whanne thei fouyten ayens you, Y bitook hem in to youre hondis, and ye hadden in possessioun `the lond of hem, and ye killiden hem.
After, I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt beyond Iorden, and they fought with you: but I gaue them into your hand, and ye possessed their countrey, and I destroyed them out of your sight.
9 Sotheli Balach, the sone of Sephor, the king of Moab, roos, and fauyt ayens Israel; and he sente, and clepide Balaam, the sone of Beor, that he schulde curse you.
Also Balak the sonne of Zippor King of Moab arose and warred against Israel, and sent to call Balaam the sonne of Beor for to curse you,
10 And Y nolde here hym, but ayenward bi hym Y blesside you, and delyuerede you fro hise hondis.
But I would not heare Balaam: therefore he blessed you, and I deliuered you out of his hand.
11 And ye passiden Jordan, and camen to Jerico; and men of that citee fouyten ayens you, Ammorrei, and Feresei, and Cananei, Ethei, and Gergesei, and Euei, and Jebusei; and Y bitook hem in to youre hondis.
And ye went ouer Iorden, and came vnto Iericho, and the men of Iericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hiuites and the Iebusites, and I deliuered them into your hand.
12 And Y sente flies with venemouse tongis bifor you, and Y castide hem out of her places; Y kyllide twei kyngis of Ammorreis, not in thi swerd and bowe.
And I sent hornets before you, which cast them out before you, euen the two kings of the Amorites, and not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
13 And Y yaf to you the lond in which ye traueiliden not, and citees whiche ye bildiden not, that ye schulden dwelle in tho, and vyneris, and places of olyue trees, whiche ye plauntiden not.
And I haue giuen you a land, wherein ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and yee dwell in them, and eate of the vineyards and oliue trees, which yee planted not.
14 Now therfor drede ye the Lord, and serue ye hym with perfite herte and moost trewe; and do ye awei the goddis, to whiche youre fadris seruyden in Mesopotanye, and in Egipt; and serue ye the Lord.
Nowe therefore feare the Lord, and serue him in vprightnesse and in trueth, and put away the gods, which your fathers serued beyonde the flood and in Egypt, and serue the Lord.
15 But if it semeth yuel to you, `that ye serue the Lord, chesyng is youun to you; chese ye to you to dai that, that plesith, whom ye owen most to serue; whether to goddis, whiche youre fadris serueden in Mesopotanye, whether to the goddis of Ammorreis, in whose lond ye dwellen; forsothe Y, and myn hows schulen serue the Lord.
And if it seeme euill vnto you to serue the Lord, choose you this day whome yee will serue, whether the gods which your fathers serued (that were beyond the flood) or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwel: but I and mine house will serue the Lord.
16 And al the puple answeride and seide, Fer be it fro vs that we forsake the Lord, and serue alien goddis.
Then the people answered and saide, God forbid, that we shoulde forsake the Lord, to serue other gods.
17 `Oure Lord God hym silf ledde vs and oure fadris out of the lond of Egipt, fro the hows of seruage, and dide grete signes in oure siyt; and he kepte vs in al the weie, bi which we yeden, and in alle puplis, bi whiche we passiden; and he castide out alle folkis,
For the Lord our God, he brought vs and our fathers out of the lande of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and he did those great miracles in our sight, and preserued vs in all the way that we went, and among all the people through whome we came.
18 Ammorrei, the dwellere of the lond, in to which we entriden. Therfor we schulen serue the Lord, for he is `oure Lord God.
And the Lord did cast out before vs all the people, euen the Amorites which dwelt in the lande: therefore will we also serue the Lord, for he is our God.
19 And Josue seide to the puple, Ye moun not serue the Lord; for God is hooli, and a strong feruent louyere, and he foryyueth not youre trespassis and synnes.
And Ioshua saide vnto the people, Ye can not serue the Lord: for he is an holie God: he is a ielous God: hee will not pardon your iniquitie nor your sinnes.
20 If ye forsaken the Lord, and seruen alien goddis, the Lord schal turne `hym silf, and schal turment you, and schal distrie, after that he hath youe goodis to you.
If yee forsake the Lord and serue strange gods, then he will returne and bring euill vpon you, and consume you, after that hee hath done you good.
21 And the puple seide to Josue, It schal not be so, as thou spekist, but we schulen serue the Lord.
And the people saide vnto Ioshua, Nay, but we will serue the Lord.
22 And Josue seide to the puple, Ye ben witnessis, that ye han chose the Lord to you, that ye serue him. And thei answeriden, We ben witnessis.
And Ioshua saide vnto the people, Yee are witnesses against your selues, that yee haue chosen you the Lord, to serue him: and they sayd, We are witnesses.
23 Therfor, he seide, Now do ye awei alien goddis fro the myddis of you, and bowe ye youre hertis to the Lord God of Israel.
Then put away nowe, saide he, the strange gods which are among you, and bowe your hearts vnto the Lord God of Israel.
24 And the puple seide to Josue, We schulen serue `oure Lord God, and we schulen be obedient to hise heestis.
And ye people saide vnto Ioshua, The Lord our God wil we serue, and his voyce wil we obey.
25 Therfor Josue smoot a boond of pees in that dai, and settide forth to the puple comaundementis and domes in Sichen.
So Ioshua made a couenant with the people the same day, and gaue them an ordinance and lawe in Shechem.
26 And he wroot alle these wordis in the book of Goddis lawe. And he took a greet stoon, and puttide it vndur an ook, that was in the seyntuarie of the Lord.
And Ioshua wrote these woordes in the booke of the Lawe of God, and tooke a great stone, and pitched it there vnder an oke that was in the Sanctuarie of the Lord.
27 And he seide to al the puple, Lo! this stoon schal be to you in to witnessing, that ye herden alle the wordis of the Lord, whiche he spak to you, lest perauenture ye wolden denye aftirward, and lye to youre Lord God.
And Ioshua saide vnto all the people, Beholde, this stone shall be a witnesse vnto vs: for it hath heard all the wordes of the Lord which he spake with vs: it shall be therefore a witnesse against you, lest yee denie your God.
28 And he lefte the puple, ech man in to his possessioun.
Then Ioshua let the people depart, euery man vnto his inheritance.
29 And after these thingis Josue, the sone of Nun, the `seruaunt of the Lord, diede, an hundride yeer eld and ten.
And after these things Ioshua the sonne of Nun, the seruaunt of the Lord died, being an hundreth and ten yeeres olde.
30 And thei birieden hym in the costis of his possessioun, in Thannath of Sare, which is set in the hil of Effraym, fro the north part of the hil Gaas.
And they buried him in ye border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the Northside of mount Gaash.
31 And Israel seruede the Lord in alle the daies of Josue, and of the eldre men, that lyueden in long tyme aftir Josue, and whiche eldre men knewen alle the werkis of the Lord, whiche he hadde do in Israel.
And Israel serued the Lord all the daies of Ioshua, and all the daies of the Elders that ouerliued Ioshua, and which had knowen all the workes of the Lord that he had done for Israel.
32 Also `the sones of Israel birieden the boonys of Joseph, whiche thei baren fro Egipt in Sichen, in the part of the feeld, which feeld Jacob bouyte of the sones of Emor, fadir of Sichen, for an hundrid yonge scheep; and it was in to possessioun of the sones of Joseph.
And the bones of Ioseph, which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem in a parcell of ground which Iaakob bought of the sonnes of Hamor the father of Shechem, for an hundreth pieces of siluer, and the children of Ioseph had them in their inheritance.
33 Also Eliazar, sone of Aaron, preest, diede; and Fynees and hise sones biryden hym in Gabaa, which was youun to hym in the hil of Efraym.
Also Eleazar the sonne of Aaron died, whome they buried in the hill of Phinehas his sonne, which was giuen him in mount Ephraim.
