Joshua 24

1 And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:

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.

2 And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served strange gods.

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.

3 And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia: and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and I multiplied his seed,

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;

4 And gave him Isaac: and to him again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

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.

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

And I struck Egypt with the wonders that I wrought amongst them.

6 And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea: and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.

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.

7 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time:

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.

8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorrhite, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and slew them.

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.

9 And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam son of Beor, to curse you:

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

10 And I would not hear him, but on the contrary I blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand.

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].

11 And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you, the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Gergesite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands.

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.

12 And I sent before you hornets: and I drove them out from their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy sword nor with thy bow.

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.

13 And I gave you a land, in which you had not laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not, vineyards and oliveyards, which you planted not.

And he gave you a land on which you did not labour, 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.

14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

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.

15 But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

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, amongst whom you dwell upon their land: but I and my house will serve the Lord, for he is holy.

16 And the people answered, and said: God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.

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

17 The Lord our God he brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: and did very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.

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 amongst all the nations through whom we passed.

18 And he hath cast out all the nations, the Amorrhite the inhabitant of the land into which we are come. Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.

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.

19 And Josue said to the people: You will not be able to serve the Lord: for he is a holy God, and mighty and jealous, and will not forgive your wickedness and sins.

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.

20 If you leave the Lord, and serve strange gods, he will turn, and will afflict you, and will destroy you after all the good he hath done you.

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.

21 And the people said to Josue: No, it shall not be so as thou sayest, but we will serve the Lord.

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

22 And Josue said to the people: You are witnesses, that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they answered: We are witnesses.

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

23 Now therefore, said he, put away strange gods from among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel.

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

24 And the people said to Josue: We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his commandments.

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

25 Josue therefore on that day made a covenant, and set before the people commandments and judgments in Sichem.

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.

26 And he wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord: and he took a great stone, and set it under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.

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.

27 And he said to all the people: Behold this stone shall be a testimony unto you, that it hath heard all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken to you: lest perhaps hereafter you will deny it, and lie to the Lord your God.

And Joshua said to the people, Behold, this stone shall be amongst 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 amongst you for a witness in the last days, whenever you shall deal falsely with the Lord my God.

28 And he sent the people away every one to their own possession.

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

29 And after these things Josue the son of Null the servant of the Lord died, being a hundred and ten years old:

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.

30 And they buried him in the border of his possession in Thamnathsare, which is situate in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas.

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

31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Josue, and of the ancients that lived a long time after Josue, and that had known all the works of the Lord which he had done in Israel.

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.

32 And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had taken out of Egypt, they buried in Sichem, in that part of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hemor the father of Sichem, for a hundred young ewes, and it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.

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.

33 Eleazar also the son of Aaron died: and they buried him in Gabaath that belongeth to Phinees his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

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.