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.

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their leaders, 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.

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'Your ancestors long ago lived beyond the Euphrates River—Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—and they worshiped 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,

But I took your father from beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan and gave him many descendants through his son 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.

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

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

I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians with plagues. 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.

I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Sea of Reeds.

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.

When your ancestors called out to Yahweh, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea to come over them and cover them. You saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

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.

I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them 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 son of Zippor, king of Moab, got up and attacked Israel. He sent and called for Balaam 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.

But I did not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you. So I rescued 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.

You went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. The leaders of Jericho fought against you, along with the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I gave you victory over them and put them under your control.

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.

I sent the hornet before you, which drove them and the two kings of the Amorites out before you. It did not happen by your sword or by your 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.’

I gave you land on which you had not worked and cities that you had not built, and now you live in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.'

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 fear Yahweh and worship him with all integrity and faithfulness; get rid of the gods that your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh.

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.”

If it seems wrong in your eyes for you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live. But as for me and my house, we will worship Yahweh.”

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

The people answered and said, “We would never forsake Yahweh 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 it is Yahweh our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight, and who preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the nations through whom we 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.”

Then Yahweh drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship Yahweh, 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.

But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and 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 you forsake Yahweh and worship foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm. He will consume you, after he has done good to you.”

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

But the people said to Joshua, “No, we will worship Yahweh.”

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.”

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

“Now put away the foreign gods that are with you, and turn your heart to Yahweh, 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.”

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

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

Joshua made a covenant with the people that day. He put in place decrees and laws at 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.

Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. He took a large stone and set it up there beneath the oak tree that was beside Yahweh's sanctuary.

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.”

Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a testimony against us. It has heard all the words Yahweh said to us. So it will be a witness against you, should you ever deny your God.”

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

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

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

After these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being 110 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.

They buried him within the border of his own inheritance, at Timnath Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

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.

Israel worshiped Yahweh all of Joshua's days, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, those who had experienced everything that Yahweh 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.

The bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up out of Egypt—they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. He bought it for one hundred pieces of silver, and it became an inheritance for the descendants 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.

Eleazar son of Aaron also died. They buried him at Gibeah, the city of Phinehas his son, which had been given to him. It was in the hill country of Ephraim.