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, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and ^(E)they served other gods.

¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not laboured ^(A)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14 (B)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(C)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (D)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(E)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(F)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(G)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(H)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.”