Joshua 24
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Covenant Renewed
24 Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God.
2 Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River,[a] and they worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5 “Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt; and afterward I brought you out as a free people. 6 But when your ancestors arrived at the Red Sea,[b] the Egyptians chased after you with chariots and charioteers. 7 When your ancestors cried out to the Lord, I put darkness between you and the Egyptians. I brought the sea crashing down on the Egyptians, drowning them. With your very own eyes you saw what I did. Then you lived in the wilderness for many years.
8 “Finally, I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I destroyed them before you. I gave you victory over them, and you took possession of their land. 9 Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, started a war against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to him. Instead, I made Balaam bless you, and so I rescued you from Balak.
11 “When you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory over them. 12 And I sent terror[c] ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. 13 I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.
14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people replied, “We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods. 17 For the Lord our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. 18 It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
19 Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.”
21 But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22 “You are a witness to your own decision,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to serve the Lord.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses to what we have said.”
23 “All right then,” Joshua said, “destroy the idols among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord. 26 Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle of the Lord.
27 Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.”
28 Then Joshua sent all the people away to their own homelands.
Leaders Buried in the Promised Land
29 After this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the plot of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver.[d] This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron also died. He was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, in the town of Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas.
Joshua 24
Legacy Standard Bible
Joshua Gathers Israel
24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the [a]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 [b]River and led him through all the land of Canaan and (D)multiplied his seed 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 smote Egypt [c]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 And 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 [d]Red Sea. 7 Then they cried out to Yahweh; 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 many days. 8 Then (L)I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (N)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you from his hand. 11 (O)And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (P)the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus (Q)I gave them into your hand. 12 Then I (R)sent the hornet before you, and it [e]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but (S)not by your sword or your bow. 13 (T)And 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 Yahweh Our God
14 “So now, [f](U)fear Yahweh and serve Him in integrity and [g]truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the [h]River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. 15 If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or (V)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh to serve other gods; 17 for Yahweh our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and who did these great signs in our sight and kept us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 And Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve Yahweh, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve Yahweh, (W)for He is a holy God. He is (X)a jealous God; (Y)He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 (Z)If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AA)you have chosen for yourselves Yahweh, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (AB)incline your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.” 24 (AC)And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to His voice.” 25 (AD)So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and a judgment 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 Yahweh. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (AF)this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which He spoke [i]to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 Now it happened that after these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, 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)And Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [j]survived Joshua, who knew all the work of Yahweh 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 portion of the field (AJ)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [k]qesitah; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him [l]at Gibeah of (AK)Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:2 The Euphrates River
- Joshua 24:3 The Euphrates River
- Joshua 24:5 Lit according to
- Joshua 24:6 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 24:12 Lit drove them out
- Joshua 24:14 Or reverence
- Joshua 24:14 Or faithfulness
- Joshua 24:14 The Euphrates River
- Joshua 24:27 Lit with
- Joshua 24:31 Lit prolonged days after
- Joshua 24:32 Ancient currency, cf. Gen 33:19; Job 42:11
- Joshua 24:33 Or on the hill
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