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.

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves 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.

Joshua said to all the people, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served 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,

I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring, and gave him Isaac.

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.

I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

5 And Y sente Moises and Aaron, and Y smoot Egipt with many signes and wondris,

“‘I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward 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.

I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to 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.

When they cried out to Yahweh, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days.

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.

“‘I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you.

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.

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor 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 listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered 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.

“‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered 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.

I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your 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.

I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’

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.

“Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh.

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.

If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”

16 And al the puple answeride and seide, Fer be it fro vs that we forsake the Lord, and serue alien goddis.

The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve 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 it is Yahweh our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed.

18 Ammorrei, the dwellere of the lond, in to which we entriden. Therfor we schulen serue the Lord, for he is `oure Lord God.

Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve Yahweh; 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.

Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.

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 you forsake Yahweh, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good.”

21 And the puple seide to Josue, It schal not be so, as thou spekist, but we schulen serue the Lord.

The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.”

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.

Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh yourselves, to serve him.” They said, “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.

“Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”

24 And the puple seide to Josue, We schulen serue `oure Lord God, and we schulen be obedient to hise heestis.

The people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice.”

25 Therfor Josue smoot a boond of pees in that dai, and settide forth to the puple comaundementis and domes in Sichen.

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance 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.

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 Yahweh.

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.

Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”

28 And he lefte the puple, ech man in to his possessioun.

So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

29 And after these thingis Josue, the sone of Nun, the `seruaunt of the Lord, diede, an hundride yeer eld and ten.

After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old.

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.

They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of 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.

Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Yahweh, that he had worked 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.

They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

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.

Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.