The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel ^(A)to Shechem and ^(B)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And ^(C)they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, ^(D)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,^[a] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and ^(E)they served other gods. ^3 (F)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River^[b] and ^(G)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. ^(H)I gave him Isaac. ⁴ And to Isaac I gave ^(I)Jacob and Esau. ^(J)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, ^(K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ^5 (L)And I sent Moses and Aaron, ^(M)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and ^(N)afterward I brought you out.

⁶ “‘Then ^(O)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ^(P)you came to the sea. ^(Q)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ^7 (R)And when they cried to the Lord, ^(S)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians ^(T)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; ^(U)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. ^(V)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸ Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. ^(W)They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ^9 (X)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. ^(Y)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, ^10 (Z)but I would not listen to Balaam. ^(AA)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ^11 (AB)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, ^(AC)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also ^(AD)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. ¹² And I sent ^(AE)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was ^(AF)not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored ^(AG)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14 (AH)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(AI)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (AJ)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(AK)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(AL)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(AM)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(AN)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

²³ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^(A)he expounded to them, testifying to ^(B)the kingdom of God and ^(C)trying to convince them about Jesus ^(D)both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴ And ^(E)some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^(F)“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that ^(K)this ^(L)salvation of God ^(M)has been sent to the Gentiles; ^(N)they will listen.”^[a]

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[b] and ^(O)welcomed all who came to him, ^31 (P)proclaiming ^(Q)the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^(R)with all boldness and ^(S)without hindrance.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

^23 (A)One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^(B)began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^(C)why are they doing ^(D)what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, ^(E)“Have you never read ^(F)what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: ²⁶ how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{[a] (G)}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^(H)the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, ^(I)“The Sabbath was made for man, ^(J)not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So ^(K)the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”