Joshua 24
New King James Version
The Covenant at Shechem(A)
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to (B)Shechem and (C)called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they (D)presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: (E)‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of [a]the River in old times; and (F)they served other gods. 3 (G)Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of [b]the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his [c]descendants and (H)gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave (I)Jacob and Esau. To (J)Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, (K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 (L)Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and (M)I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.
6 ‘Then I (N)brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 So they cried out to the Lord; and He put (O)darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And (P)your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness (Q)a long time. 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, (R)and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then (S)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and (T)sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 (U)But I would not listen to Balaam; (V)therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 Then (W)you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And (X)the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. 12 (Y)I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but (Z)not with your sword or with your bow. 13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and (AA)cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14 (AB)“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in (AC)sincerity and in truth, and (AD)put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of [d]the River and (AE)in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, (AF)choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether (AG)the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [e]the River, or (AH)the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. (AI)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake 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 bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. (AJ)We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, (AK)“You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a (AL)holy God. He is (AM)a jealous God; (AN)He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 (AO)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, (AP)then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”
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 (AQ)you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses!”
23 “Now therefore,” he said, (AR)“put away the foreign gods which are among you, and (AS)incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”
24 And the people (AT)said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
25 So Joshua (AU)made[f] a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance (AV)in Shechem.
26 Then Joshua (AW)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took (AX)a large stone, and (AY)set it up there (AZ)under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be (BA)a witness to us, for (BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So (BC)Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.
Death of Joshua and Eleazar
29 (BD)Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at (BE)Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.
31 (BF)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had (BG)known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32 (BH)The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground (BI)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [g]pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33 And (BJ)Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to (BK)Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:2 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:3 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:3 Lit. seed
- Joshua 24:14 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:15 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:25 Lit. cut a covenant
- Joshua 24:32 Heb. qesitah, an unknown ancient measure of weight
Joshua 24
Young's Literal Translation
24 And Joshua gathereth all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and calleth for the elders of Israel, and for its heads, and for its judges, and for its authorities, and they station themselves before God.
2 And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Beyond the River have your fathers dwelt of old -- Terah father of Abraham and father of Nachor -- and they serve other gods;
3 and I take your father Abraham from beyond the River, and cause him to go through all the land of Canaan, and multiply his seed, and give to him Isaac.
4 And I give to Isaac, Jacob and Esau; and I give to Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his sons have gone down to Egypt.
5 And I send Moses and Aaron, and plague Egypt, as I have done in its midst, and afterwards I have brought you out.
6 And I bring out your fathers from Egypt, and ye go into the sea, and the Egyptians pursue after your fathers, with chariot and with horsemen, to the Red Sea;
7 and they cry unto Jehovah, and He setteth thick darkness between you and the Egyptians, and bringeth on them the sea, and covereth them, and your eyes see that which I have done in Egypt; and ye dwell in a wilderness many days.
8 `And I bring you in unto the land of the Amorite who is dwelling beyond the Jordan, and they fight with you, and I give them into your hand, and ye possess their land, and I destroy them out of your presence.
9 `And Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, riseth and fighteth against Israel, and sendeth and calleth for Balaam son of Beor, to revile you,
10 and I have not been willing to hearken to Balaam, and he doth greatly bless you, and I deliver you out of his hand.
11 `And ye pass over the Jordan, and come in unto Jericho, and fight against you do the possessors of Jericho -- the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite -- and I give them into your hand.
12 And I send before you the hornet, and it casteth them out from your presence -- two kings of the Amorite -- not by thy sword, nor by thy bow.
13 `And I give to you a land for which thou hast not laboured, and cities which ye have not built, and ye dwell in them; of vineyards and olive-yards which ye have not planted ye are eating.
14 `And now, fear ye Jehovah, and serve Him, in perfection and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve ye Jehovah;
15 and if wrong in your eyes to serve Jehovah -- choose for you to-day whom ye do serve; -- whether the gods whom your fathers served, which [are] beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling; and I and my house -- we serve Jehovah.'
16 And the people answer and say, `Far be it from us to forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;
17 for Jehovah our God [is] He who is bringing us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants, and who hath done before our eyes these great signs, and doth keep us in all the way in which we have gone, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed;
18 and Jehovah casteth out the whole of the peoples, even the Amorite inhabiting the land, from our presence; we also do serve Jehovah, for He [is] our God.'
19 And Joshua saith unto the people, `Ye are not able to serve Jehovah, for a God most holy He [is]; a zealous God He [is]; He doth not bear with your transgression and with your sins.
20 When ye forsake Jehovah, and have served gods of a stranger, then He hath turned back and done evil to you, and consumed you, after that He hath done good to you.'
21 And the people saith unto Joshua, `No, but Jehovah we do serve.'
22 And Joshua saith unto the people, `Witnesses ye are against yourselves, that ye have chosen for you Jehovah to serve Him (and they say, `Witnesses!')
23 and, now, turn aside the gods of the stranger which [are] in your midst, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, God of Israel.'
24 And the people say unto Joshua, `Jehovah our God we serve, and to His voice we hearken.'
25 And Joshua maketh a covenant with the people on that day, and layeth on it a statute and an ordinance, in Shechem.
26 And Joshua writeth these words in the Book of the Law of God, and taketh a great stone, and raiseth it up there under the oak which [is] in the sanctuary of Jehovah.
27 And Joshua saith unto all the people, `Lo, this stone is against us for a witness, for it hath heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He hath spoken with us, and it hath been against you for a witness, lest ye lie against your God.'
28 And Joshua sendeth the people away, each to his inheritance.
29 And it cometh to pass, after these things, that Joshua son of Nun, servant of Jehovah, dieth, a son of a hundred and ten years,
30 and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Serah, which [is] in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the hill of Gaash.
31 And Israel serveth Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua, and who knew all the work of Jehovah which He did to Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem, with a hundred kesitah; and they are to the sons of Joseph for an inheritance.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they bury him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the hill-country of Ephraim.
Joshua 24
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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
- Joshua 24:3 Lit seed
- Joshua 24:5 Lit according to
- Joshua 24:6 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 24:12 Lit drove them out
- Joshua 24:14 Or revere
- Joshua 24:14 Or faithfulness
- Joshua 24:24 Lit listen to
- Joshua 24:27 Lit with
- Joshua 24:31 Lit prolonged days after
- Joshua 24:32 Heb qesitah
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
