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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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

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 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 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 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 answered and said, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.”

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

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

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

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

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

And Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance 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 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 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 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 And he dismissed the people, each one to their own possession.

And Joshua let the people depart, every man unto 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.