¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is ^(A)a holy God. He is ^(B)a jealous God; ^(C)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (D)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(E)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^(F)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(G)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵ So Joshua ^(H)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(I)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. ²⁶ And Joshua ^(J)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^(K)he took a large stone and set it up there ^(L)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^(M)this stone shall be a witness against us, for ^(N)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” ²⁸ So Joshua ^(O)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua's Death and Burial

^29 (P)After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. ³⁰ And they buried him in his own inheritance at ^(Q)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

^31 (R)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua ^(S)and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

^32 (T)As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land ^(U)that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.^[a] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of ^(V)Phinehas his son, which had been given him in ^(W)the hill country of Ephraim.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant^[a] of the church at ^(A)Cenchreae, ² that you ^(B)may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(C)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. ⁵ Greet also ^(D)the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^(E)the first convert^[b] to Christ in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[c] my kinsmen and my ^(F)fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,^[d] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^(G)who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers^[e] who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ^16 (H)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that ^(A)a riot was beginning, he took water and ^(B)washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(C)this man's blood;^{[a] (D)}see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, ^(E)“His blood be on us and ^(F)on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having ^(G)scourged^[b] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (H)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the ^(I)governor's headquarters,^[c] and they gathered the whole ^(J)battalion^[d] before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put ^(K)a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they ^(L)mocked him, saying, “Hail, ^(M)King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(N)they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and ^(O)led him away to crucify him.