The Covenant Is Renewed at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all Israel’s tribes together at Shechem. He sent for the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel. They came and stood there in the sight of God.

² Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Long ago your people lived east of the Euphrates River. They worshiped other gods there. Your people included Terah. He was the father of Abraham and Nahor. ³ I took your father Abraham from the land east of the Euphrates. I led him all through Canaan. I gave him many children and grandchildren. I gave him Isaac. ⁴ To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau. But Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

⁵ “ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron. I made the people of Egypt suffer because of the plagues I sent on them. But I brought you out of Egypt. ⁶ When I brought your people out, they came to the Red Sea. The people of Egypt chased them with chariots and with men on horses. They chased them all the way to the sea. ⁷ But your people cried out to me for help. So I put darkness between you and the people of Egypt. I swept them into the sea. It completely covered them. Your own eyes saw what I did to them. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.

⁸ “ ‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites. They lived east of the Jordan River. They fought against you. But I handed them over to you. I destroyed them to make room for you. Then you took over their land. ⁹ Balak, the son of Zippor, prepared to fight against Israel. Balak was the king of Moab. He sent for Balaam, the son of Beor. Balak wanted Balaam to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam’s curses. So he blessed you again and again. And I saved you from his power.

¹¹ “ ‘Then you went across the Jordan River. You came to Jericho. Its people fought against you. So did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites. But I handed them over to you. ¹² I sent hornets ahead of you. They drove your enemies out to make room for you. That included the two Amorite kings. You did not do that with your own swords and bows. ¹³ So I gave you a land you had never farmed. I gave you cities you had not built. You are now living in them. And you are eating the fruit of vineyards and olive trees you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “So have respect for the Lord. Serve him. Be completely faithful to him. Throw away the gods your people worshiped east of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But suppose you don’t want to serve him. Then choose for yourselves right now whom you will serve. You can choose the gods your people served east of the Euphrates River. Or you can serve the gods of the Amorites. After all, you are living in their land. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered Joshua, “We would never desert the Lord! We would never serve other gods! ¹⁷ The Lord our God himself brought us and our parents up out of Egypt. He brought us out of that land where we were slaves. With our own eyes, we saw those great signs he did. He kept us safe on our entire journey. He kept us safe as we traveled through all the nations. ¹⁸ He drove them out to make room for us. That included the Amorites. They also lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord. That’s because he is our God.”

¹⁹ Joshua said to the people, “You aren’t able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t forgive you when you disobey him. He won’t forgive you when you sin against him. ²⁰ Suppose you desert the Lord. Suppose you serve the gods that people in other lands serve. If you do, he will turn against you. He will bring trouble on you. He will destroy you, even though he has been good to you.”

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

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

“Yes. We are witnesses,” they replied.

²³ “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the statues of the gods that are among you. People from other lands serve those gods. Give yourselves completely to the Lord. He is the God of Israel.”

²⁴ Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him.”

²⁵ On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people. There at Shechem he reminded them of its rules and laws. ²⁶ He recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he got a large stone. He set it up in Shechem under the oak tree. It was near the place that had been set apart for the Lord.

²⁷ “Look!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has spoken to us. Suppose you aren’t faithful to your God. Then the stone will be a witness against you.”

²⁸ Joshua sent the people away. He sent all of them to their own shares of land.

Joshua Is Buried in the Promised Land

²⁹ Then Joshua, the servant of the Lord, died. He was the son of Nun. He was 110 years old when he died. ³⁰ His people buried him at Timnath Serah on his own property. It’s north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.

³¹ Israel served the Lord as long as Joshua lived. They also served him as long as the elders lived. Those were the elders who lived longer than Joshua did. They had seen for themselves everything the Lord had done for Israel.

³² The Israelites had brought Joseph’s bones up from Egypt. They buried his bones at Shechem in the piece of land Jacob had bought. He had bought it from the sons of Hamor. He had paid 100 pieces of silver for it. Hamor was the father of Shechem. That piece of land became the share that belonged to Joseph’s children after him.

³³ Aaron’s son Eleazar died. He was buried at Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim. Gibeah had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.

An Angel Helps Peter Escape From Prison

12 About this time, King Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church. He planned to make them suffer greatly. ² He had James killed with a sword. James was John’s brother. ³ Herod saw that the death of James pleased some Jews. So he arrested Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in prison. Peter was placed under guard. He was watched by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put Peter on public trial. It would take place after the Passover Feast.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed hard to God for him.

⁶ It was the night before Herod was going to bring him to trial. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Two chains held him there. Lookouts stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. A light shone in the prison cell. The angel struck Peter on his side. Peter woke up. “Quick!” the angel said. “Get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” Peter did so. “Put on your coat,” the angel told him. “Follow me.” ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison. But he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards. Then they came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. They went through it. They walked the length of one street. Suddenly the angel left Peter.

¹¹ Then Peter realized what had happened. He said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel. He set me free from Herod’s power. He saved me from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹² When Peter understood what had happened, he went to Mary’s house. Mary was the mother of John Mark. Many people had gathered in her home. They were praying there. ¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance. A servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴ She recognized Peter’s voice. She was so excited that she ran back without opening the door. “Peter is at the door!” she exclaimed.

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they said to her. But she kept telling them it was true. So they said, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶ Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said. Then he went to another place.

¹⁸ In the morning the soldiers were bewildered. They couldn’t figure out what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ So Herod had them look everywhere for Peter. But they didn’t find him. Then Herod questioned the guards closely. He ordered that they be put to death.

Herod Dies

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. ²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they got together and asked for a meeting with him. This was because they depended on the king’s country to supply them with food. They gained the support of Blastus and then asked for peace. Blastus was a trusted personal servant of the king.

²¹ The appointed day came. Herod was seated on his throne. He was wearing his royal robes. He made a speech to the people. ²² Then they shouted, “This is the voice of a god. It’s not the voice of a man.” ²³ Right away an angel of the Lord struck Herod down. Herod had not given praise to God. So he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But God’s word continued to spread and many people believed the message.

Barnabas and Saul Are Sent Off

²⁵ Barnabas and Saul finished their task. Then they returned from Jerusalem. They took John Mark with them.