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Joshua Recounts Their History

24 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officials, and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Long ago[a] your ancestors[b]—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,[c] and they served other gods. I took your ancestor[d] Abraham from beyond the river[e] and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I increased his offspring; I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. When I brought out your ancestors[f] from Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your ancestors[g] with chariots[h] and horsemen to the Red Sea.[i] They cried out to Yahweh, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them[j] and covered them; your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for many days. And I brought you to the land of the Amorites[k] who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought you, and I gave them into your hand; you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.[l] Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he richly blessed you. So I rescued you from his hand, 11 and you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the citizens of Jericho, the Amorites,[m] the Perizzites,[n] the Canaanites,[o] the Hittites,[p] the Girgashites,[q] the Hivites,[r] and the Jebusites,[s] fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. 12 I sent before you the hornet and they drove out before you two kings of the Amorites;[t] but not by your sword or bow. 13 I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live[u] in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.’

The Israelites Promise to Serve Yahweh

14 “So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors[v] served beyond the river[w] and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. 15 But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors[x] served beyond the river,[y] or the gods of the Amorites[z] in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh.” 16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods, 17 for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors[aa] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites[ab] who live[ac] in the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he is our God.”

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve Yahweh.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant[ad] with the people on that day, and he established for them a statute and a judgment at Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away to their inheritance.

29 After these things Joshua son of Nun servant of Yahweh died; he was one hundred and ten years old.[ae] 30 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, at Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived long after Joshua, and who had known all the work that Yahweh did for Israel.[af] 32 The bones of Jacob, which the Israelites[ag] had brought out from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a piece of land that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money;[ah] it became an inheritance for the descendants[ai] of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, which had been given to his son Phinehas.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:2 Literally “from ancient”
  2. Joshua 24:2 Or “fathers”
  3. Joshua 24:2 That is, the Euphrates
  4. Joshua 24:3 Or “father”
  5. Joshua 24:3 That is, the Euphrates
  6. Joshua 24:6 Or “fathers”
  7. Joshua 24:6 Or “fathers”
  8. Joshua 24:6 Hebrew “chariot”
  9. Joshua 24:6 Literally “sea of reed”
  10. Joshua 24:7 That is, the Egyptians
  11. Joshua 24:8 Hebrew “Amorite”
  12. Joshua 24:8 Literally “in your presence”
  13. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Amorite”
  14. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Perizzite”
  15. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  16. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Hittite”
  17. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Girgashite”
  18. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Hivite”
  19. Joshua 24:11 Hebrew “Jebusite”
  20. Joshua 24:12 Hebrew “Amorite”
  21. Joshua 24:13 Or “dwell”
  22. Joshua 24:14 Or “fathers”
  23. Joshua 24:14 That is, the Euphrates
  24. Joshua 24:15 Or “fathers”
  25. Joshua 24:15 That is, the Euphrates
  26. Joshua 24:15 Hebrew “Amorite”
  27. Joshua 24:17 Or “fathers”
  28. Joshua 24:18 “Hebrew “Amorite”
  29. Joshua 24:18 Or “dwell”
  30. Joshua 24:25 Literally “cut a covenant”
  31. Joshua 24:29 Literally “a son of one hundred and ten years”
  32. Joshua 24:31 Joshua 24:28–31 is repeated in Judges 2:6–10
  33. Joshua 24:32 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  34. Joshua 24:32 Hebrew kesitah
  35. Joshua 24:32 Or “sons”

Joshua Reviews Israel’s History

24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates River, namely, (B)Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Then (C)I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (D)multiplied his [a]descendants and gave him (E)Isaac. To Isaac I gave (F)Jacob and Esau, and (G)to Esau I gave Mount Seir, to possess it; but (H)Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. Then (I)I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt [b]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. So I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (J)you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the [c]Red Sea. But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And (K)you lived in the wilderness for a long time. Then (L)I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; but I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land when I eliminated them before you. Then (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel, and he sent messengers and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (N)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand. 11 (O)You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (P)the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Therefore (Q)I handed them over to you. 12 Then I (R)sent the hornet before you and it [d]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from you—(S)not by your sword nor your bow. 13 And (T)I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

“We Will Serve the Lord

14 “Now, therefore, [e](U)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [f]truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or (V)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would abandon the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves, and did these great signs in our sight and watched over us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (W)for He is a holy God. He is (X)a jealous God; (Y)He will not forgive your wrongdoing or your sins. 20 (Z)If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and destroy you after He has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AA)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now then, do away with the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (AB)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And (AC)the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and [g]obey His voice.” 25 (AD)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua (AE)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Then Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (AF)this stone shall be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [h]to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

29 Now it came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in (AG)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

31 (AH)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [i]survived Joshua, and had known every deed of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

32 Now (AI)they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the plot of land (AJ)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred [j]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son (AK)Phinehas, which was given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:3 Lit seed
  2. Joshua 24:5 Lit according to
  3. Joshua 24:6 Lit Sea of Reeds
  4. Joshua 24:12 Lit drove them out
  5. Joshua 24:14 Or revere
  6. Joshua 24:14 Or faithfulness
  7. Joshua 24:24 Lit listen to
  8. Joshua 24:27 Lit with
  9. Joshua 24:31 Lit prolonged days after
  10. Joshua 24:32 Heb qesitah