Joshua 24

New International Version

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

24 Then Joshua assembled^(A) all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.^(B) He summoned^(C) the elders,^(D) leaders, judges and officials of Israel,^(E) and they presented themselves before God.

²Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor,^(F) lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.^(G) ³But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan^(H) and gave him many descendants.^(I) I gave him Isaac,^(J) ⁴and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.^(K) I assigned the hill country of Seir^(L) to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.^(M)

⁵“‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron,^(N) and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.^(O) ⁶When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea,^(P) and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen^[a]^(Q) as far as the Red Sea.^[b]^(R) ⁷But they cried^(S) to the Lord for help, and he put darkness^(T) between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them.^(U) You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.^(V) Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.^(W)

⁸“‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites^(X) who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.^(Y) ⁹When Balak son of Zippor,^(Z) the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor^(AA) to put a curse on you.^(AB) ¹⁰But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you^(AC) again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

¹¹“‘Then you crossed the Jordan^(AD) and came to Jericho.^(AE) The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites,^(AF) Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,^(AG) but I gave them into your hands.^(AH) ¹²I sent the hornet^(AI) ahead of you, which drove them out^(AJ) before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.^(AK) ¹³So I gave you a land^(AL) on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’^(AM)

¹⁴“Now fear the Lord^(AN) and serve him with all faithfulness.^(AO) Throw away the gods^(AP) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,^(AQ) and serve the Lord. ¹⁵But 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,^(AR) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,^(AS) we will serve the Lord.”^(AT)

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

¹⁹Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;^(BB) he is a jealous God.^(BC) He will not forgive^(BD) your rebellion^(BE) and your sins. ²⁰If you forsake the Lord^(BF) and serve foreign gods, he will turn^(BG) and bring disaster^(BH) on you and make an end of you,^(BI) after he has been good to you.”

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

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

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

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

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

²⁵On that day Joshua made a covenant^(BP) for the people, and there at Shechem^(BQ) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.^(BR) ²⁶And Joshua recorded^(BS) these things in the Book of the Law of God.^(BT) Then he took a large stone^(BU) and set it up there under the oak^(BV) near the holy place of the Lord.

²⁷“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone^(BW) will be a witness^(BX) 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^(BY) to your God.”^(BZ)

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

Buried in the Promised Land^(CB)

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

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

³²And Joseph’s bones,^(CH) which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,^(CI) were buried at Shechem in the tract of land^(CJ) that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver^[d] from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

³³And Eleazar son of Aaron^(CK) died and was buried at Gibeah,^(CL) which had been allotted to his son Phinehas^(CM) in the hill country^(CN) of Ephraim.

Footnotes

Joshua 24:6 Or charioteers
Joshua 24:6 Or the Sea of Reeds
Joshua 24:30 Also known as Timnath Heres (see Judges 2:9)
Joshua 24:32 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.

Proverbs 11

New International Version

11 The Lord detests dishonest scales,^(A)
but accurate weights find favor with him.^(B)

²When pride comes, then comes disgrace,^(C)
but with humility comes wisdom.^(D)

³The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.^(E)

⁴Wealth^(F) is worthless in the day of wrath,^(G)
but righteousness delivers from death.^(H)

⁵The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,^(I)
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.^(J)

⁶The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.^(K)

⁷Hopes placed in mortals die with them;^(L)
all the promise of^[a] their power comes to nothing.^(M)

⁸The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.^(N)

⁹With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.^(O)

¹⁰When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;^(P)
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.^(Q)

¹¹Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,^(R)
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.^(S)

¹²Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,^(T)
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.^(U)

¹³A gossip betrays a confidence,^(V)
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.^(W)

¹⁴For lack of guidance a nation falls,^(X)
but victory is won through many advisers.^(Y)

¹⁵Whoever puts up security^(Z) for a stranger will surely suffer,
but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.^(AA)

¹⁶A kindhearted woman gains honor,^(AB)
but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷Those who are kind benefit themselves,
but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

¹⁸A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.^(AC)

¹⁹Truly the righteous attain life,^(AD)
but whoever pursues evil finds death.^(AE)

²⁰The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,^(AF)
but he delights^(AG) in those whose ways are blameless.^(AH)

²¹Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.^(AI)

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

²⁴One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵A generous^(AJ) person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.^(AK)

²⁶People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

²⁷Whoever seeks good finds favor,
but evil comes to one who searches for it.^(AL)

²⁸Those who trust in their riches will fall,^(AM)
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.^(AN)

²⁹Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.^(AO)

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,^(AP)
and the one who is wise saves lives.

³¹If the righteous receive their due^(AQ) on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

Footnotes

Proverbs 11:7 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac and Targum When the wicked die, their hope perishes; / all they expected from