Joshua 24:14-28

Evangelical Heritage Version

Joshua’s Admonition

¹⁴ Joshua said, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully. Remove the gods that your fathers served in the region across the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if you see no benefit in serving the Lord,^[a] then choose for yourselves today whomever you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household—we will serve the Lord!”

¹⁶ The people responded by saying, “Far be it from us^[b] to forsake the Lord in order to serve other gods! ¹⁷ For the Lord our God, he is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, where we were slaves. He is the one who performed these great signs right before our eyes and protected us on the whole journey that we made and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸ The Lord drove out of our presence all the peoples and the Amorites who were living in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God!”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God.^[c] He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and you serve foreign gods, then he will turn and cause disaster for you, and he will put an end to you after he has done good for you.”

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

²² So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves in order to serve him.”

The people said, “We are witnesses!”

²³ Joshua said, “Now, therefore, remove the foreign gods that are among you, and turn your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

²⁴ The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will listen to his voice.”

²⁵ That day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and he affirmed for them a statute and ordinance there at Shechem. ²⁶ Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was at the holy place of the Lord.

²⁷ Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone will be a witness among us and against us, because it has heard all the words that the Lord spoke with us. So it will be a witness among you and against you, so that you do not act deceptively against your God.”

²⁸ Then Joshua dismissed the people, each one to his own inheritance.