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.

¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored ^(A)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 (B)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(C)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (D)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(E)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(F)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(G)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(H)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

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 ^(I)a holy God. He is ^(J)a jealous God; ^(K)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (L)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(M)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 ^(N)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(O)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 ^(P)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(Q)statutes and rules for them at Shechem.