14 “Now fear the Lord(A) and serve him with all faithfulness.(B) Throw away the gods(C) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,(D) and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,(E) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,(F) we will serve the Lord.”(G)

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake(H) the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,(I) and performed those great signs(J) before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out(K) before us all the nations,(L) including the Amorites, who lived in the land.(M) We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.(N)

19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;(O) he is a jealous God.(P) He will not forgive(Q) your rebellion(R) and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord(S) and serve foreign gods, he will turn(T) and bring disaster(U) on you and make an end of you,(V) after he has been good to you.”

21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses(W) against yourselves that you have chosen(X) to serve the Lord.”

“Yes, we are witnesses,(Y)” they replied.

23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods(Z) that are among you and yield your hearts(AA) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”(AB)

25 On that day Joshua made a covenant(AC) for the people, and there at Shechem(AD) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.(AE) 26 And Joshua recorded(AF) these things in the Book of the Law of God.(AG) Then he took a large stone(AH) and set it up there under the oak(AI) near the holy place of the Lord.

27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone(AJ) will be a witness(AK) against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue(AL) to your God.”(AM)

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.(AN)

Buried in the Promised Land(AO)

29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died(AP) at the age of a hundred and ten.(AQ) 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah[a](AR) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.(AS)

31 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders(AT) who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:30 Also known as Timnath Heres (see Judges 2:9)

14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;

17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.

19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.

22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.

24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.

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