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.

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14 (A)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(B)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (C)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(D)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(E)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(F)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(G)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 ^(H)a holy God. He is ^(I)a jealous God; ^(J)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (K)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(L)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 ^(M)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(N)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 ^(O)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(P)statutes and rules for them at Shechem.

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A ^(A)Miktam^[a] of David.

^15 (A)Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ^16 (B)making the best use of the time, because ^(C)the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what ^(D)the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And ^(E)do not get drunk with wine, for that is ^(F)debauchery, but ^(G)be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in ^(H)psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ^20 (I)giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father ^(J)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^21 (K)submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

^22 (L)Wives, ^(M)submit to your own husbands, ^(N)as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(O)the husband is the head of the wife even as ^(P)Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is ^(Q)himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit ^(R)in everything to their husbands.

^25 (S)Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and ^(T)gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ^(U)the washing of water ^(V)with the word, ²⁷ so ^(W)that he might present the church to himself in splendor, ^(X)without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[a] 28} In the same way ^(Y)husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because ^(Z)we are members of his body. ^31 (AA)“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(AB)the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, ^(AC)let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(AD)respects her husband.

Children and Parents

6 ^(A)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ^2 (B)“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ^(C)but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

^5 (D)Bondservants,^[a] obey your earthly masters^[b] with fear and trembling, ^(E)with a sincere heart, ^(F)as you would Christ, ⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as ^(G)people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ^8 (H)knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^(I)whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹ Masters, do the same to them, ^(J)and stop your threatening, knowing that ^(K)he who is both their Master^[c] and yours is in heaven, and that ^(L)there is no partiality with him.

The Words of Eternal Life

^60 (A)When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, ^(B)knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? ⁶² Then what if you were to see ^(C)the Son of Man ^(D)ascending to ^(E)where he was before? ^63 (F)It is the Spirit who gives life; ^(G)the flesh is no help at all. ^(H)The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But ^(I)there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus ^(J)knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and ^(K)who it was who would betray him.) ⁶⁵ And he said, “This is why I told you ^(L)that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

^66 (M)After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to ^(N)the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have ^(O)the words of eternal life, ⁶⁹ and ^(P)we have believed, and have come to know, that ^(Q)you are ^(R)the Holy One of God.”