Giosué 24
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
3. LA GRANDE ASSEMBLEA DI SICHEM
24 Giosuè radunò tutte le tribù d'Israele in Sichem e convocò gli anziani d'Israele, i capi, i giudici e gli scribi del popolo, che si presentarono davanti a Dio. 2 Giosuè disse a tutto il popolo: «Dice il Signore, Dio d'Israele: I vostri padri, come Terach padre di Abramo e padre di Nacor, abitarono dai tempi antichi oltre il fiume e servirono altri dei. 3 Io presi il padre vostro Abramo da oltre il fiume e gli feci percorrere tutto il paese di Canaan; moltiplicai la sua discendenza e gli diedi Isacco. 4 Ad Isacco diedi Giacobbe ed Esaù e assegnai ad Esaù il possesso delle montagne di Seir; Giacobbe e i suoi figli scesero in Egitto.
5 Poi mandai Mosè e Aronne e colpii l'Egitto con i prodigi che feci in mezzo ad esso; dopo vi feci uscire. 6 Feci dunque uscire dall'Egitto i vostri padri e voi arrivaste al mare. Gli Egiziani inseguirono i vostri padri con carri e cavalieri fino al Mare Rosso. 7 Quelli gridarono al Signore ed egli pose fitte tenebre fra voi e gli Egiziani; poi spinsi sopra loro il mare, che li sommerse; i vostri occhi videro ciò che io avevo fatto agli Egiziani. Dimoraste lungo tempo nel deserto.
8 Io vi condussi poi nel paese degli Amorrei, che abitavano oltre il Giordano; essi combatterono contro di voi e io li misi in vostro potere; voi prendeste possesso del loro paese e io li distrussi dinanzi a voi. 9 Poi sorse Balak, figlio di Zippor, re di Moab, per muover guerra a Israele; mandò a chiamare Balaam, figlio di Beor, perché vi maledicesse; 10 ma io non volli ascoltare Balaam; egli dovette benedirvi e vi liberai dalle mani di Balak. 11 Passaste il Giordano e arrivaste a Gerico. Gli abitanti di Gerico, gli Amorrei, i Perizziti, i Cananei, gli Hittiti, i Gergesei, gli Evei e i Gebusei combatterono contro di voi e io li misi in vostro potere. 12 Mandai avanti a voi i calabroni, che li scacciarono dinanzi a voi, com'era avvenuto dei due re amorrei: ma ciò non avvenne per la vostra spada, né per il vostro arco. 13 Vi diedi una terra, che voi non avevate lavorata, e abitate in città, che voi non avete costruite, e mangiate i frutti delle vigne e degli oliveti, che non avete piantati.
Israele sceglie il Signore
14 Temete dunque il Signore e servitelo con integrità e fedeltà; eliminate gli dei che i vostri padri servirono oltre il fiume e in Egitto e servite il Signore. 15 Se vi dispiace di servire il Signore, scegliete oggi chi volete servire: se gli dei che i vostri padri servirono oltre il fiume oppure gli dei degli Amorrei, nel paese dei quali abitate. Quanto a me e alla mia casa, vogliamo servire il Signore».
16 Allora il popolo rispose e disse: «Lungi da noi l'abbandonare il Signore per servire altri dei! 17 Poiché il Signore nostro Dio ha fatto uscire noi e i padri nostri dal paese d'Egitto, dalla condizione servile, ha compiuto quei grandi miracoli dinanzi agli occhi nostri e ci ha protetti per tutto il viaggio che abbiamo fatto e in mezzo a tutti i popoli fra i quali siamo passati. 18 Il Signore ha scacciato dinanzi a noi tutti questi popoli e gli Amorrei che abitavano il paese. Perciò anche noi vogliamo servire il Signore, perché Egli è il nostro Dio».
19 Giosuè disse al popolo: «Voi non potrete servire il Signore, perché è un Dio santo, è un Dio geloso; Egli non perdonerà le vostre trasgressioni e i vostri peccati. 20 Se abbandonerete il Signore e servirete dei stranieri, Egli vi si volterà contro e, dopo avervi fatto tanto bene, vi farà del male e vi consumerà».
21 Il popolo disse a Giosuè: «No! Noi serviremo il Signore».
22 Allora Giosuè disse al popolo: «Voi siete testimoni contro voi stessi, che vi siete scelto il Signore per servirlo!».
Risposero: «Siamo testimoni!».
23 Giosuè disse: «Eliminate gli dei dello straniero, che sono in mezzo a voi, e rivolgete il cuore verso il Signore, Dio d'Israele!».
24 Il popolo rispose a Giosuè: «Noi serviremo il Signore nostro Dio e obbediremo alla sua voce!».
L'alleanza di Sichem
25 Giosuè in quel giorno concluse un'alleanza con il popolo e gli diede uno statuto e una legge a Sichem. 26 Poi Giosuè scrisse queste cose nel libro della legge di Dio; prese una grande pietra e la rizzò là, sotto il terebinto, che è nel santuario del Signore. 27 Giosuè disse a tutto il popolo: «Ecco questa pietra sarà una testimonianza per noi; perché essa ha udito tutte le parole che il Signore ci ha dette; essa servirà quindi da testimonio contro di voi, perché non rinneghiate il vostro Dio».
28 Poi Giosuè rimandò il popolo, ognuno al proprio territorio.
4. APPENDICI
Morte di Giosuè
29 Dopo queste cose, Giosuè figlio di Nun, servo del Signore, morì a centodieci anni 30 e lo seppellirono nel territorio di sua proprietà a Timnat-Serach, che è sulle montagne di Efraim, a settentrione del monte Gaas. 31 Israele servì il Signore per tutta la vita di Giosuè e tutta la vita degli anziani che sopravvissero a Giosuè e che conoscevano tutte le opere che il Signore aveva compiute per Israele.
Le ossa di Giuseppe. Morte di Eleazaro
32 Le ossa di Giuseppe, che gli Israeliti avevano portate dall'Egitto, le seppellirono a Sichem, nella parte della montagna che Giacobbe aveva acquistata dai figli di Camor, padre di Sichem, per cento pezzi d'argento e che i figli di Giuseppe avevano ricevuta in eredità. 33 Poi morì anche Eleazaro, figlio di Aronne, e lo seppellirono a Gàbaa di Pincas, che era stata data a suo figlio Pincas, sulle montagne di Efraim.
Joshua 24
EasyEnglish Bible
The people agree to serve the Lord
24 Joshua called all the Israelite tribes to meet together at Shechem.[a] He called the leaders of clans, the rulers, the judges and the officers to stand in front of the tabernacle. 2 Joshua said to the people, ‘This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says:
“A long time ago, your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates river. They included Terah who was the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshipped other gods. 3 But I took Abraham, your ancestor, away from that land beyond the Euphrates river. I brought him here and I led him through all the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him a son, Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave to Esau the hills of Seir. But Jacob and his sons went down to live in Egypt.
5 I sent Moses and Aaron to lead the Israelites when they were in Egypt. I punished the people of Egypt, and I brought you out from there. 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they reached the Red Sea. The Egyptians chased after them to the sea, with soldiers on horses and in chariots. 7 But your ancestors called to the Lord for help. He made the space between them and the Egyptians become dark. He caused the Egyptian soldiers to drown in the sea. Your ancestors saw what I did to the Egyptians with their own eyes. After that, they lived in the desert for a long time.
8 I brought you to the land of the Amorites, on the east side of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I helped you to win the fight. I destroyed them in front of you, and you took their land. 9 The king of Moab, Zippor's son Balak, prepared to attack you. When he did this, he asked Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam. So he could not curse you but he continued to bless you. In that way I saved you from Balak's power.
11 Then you went across the Jordan River and you came to Jericho city. The people of Jericho fought against you. So did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites. I helped you to win against all those people. 12 I sent great fear on your enemies as you moved into the land.[b] I chased them all away, as well as the two kings of the Amorites. You did not win because of your strong weapons, but because of me. 13 The land was a gift from me. I gave you a land where you had not worked in its fields. I gave you towns to live in that you did not build. You eat grapes and olives from trees that you did not plant.” ’
14 Joshua said to the people, ‘Now you must serve the Lord with fear. You must worship him. You must continue to trust him. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshipped when they lived beyond the Euphrates river and in Egypt. Worship the Lord. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then you should choose another god to worship. Decide today! Will you serve the gods that your ancestors worshipped across the river? Will you serve the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living? You choose! But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.’
16 The people answered Joshua, ‘We would never turn against the Lord to serve other gods! 17 We and our fathers were slaves in Egypt. But the Lord our God brought us out from there. We saw the great miracles that he did there. He kept us safe all the time on our journey, as we travelled through other nations. 18 The Lord chased all the nations out as we moved into the land. He chased out the Amorites and the other people who lived in the land. So we too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.’
19 Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord is a holy God. You will not be able to serve him. He wants you to belong to him. If you turn against him or you do not obey him, he will not forgive you. 20 If you turn away from the Lord and you serve foreign gods, he will turn against you. He has been kind and he has helped you until now. But he will bring trouble to you and he will destroy you, if you turn away from him.’
21 The people said to Joshua, ‘Never! We will only serve the Lord.’
22 Joshua said to them, ‘You yourselves have chosen to serve the Lord. Agree now that you have done that.’
They replied, ‘Yes, we agree!’
23 Joshua said, ‘So now you must throw away the foreign gods that you still keep. Trust the Lord, Israel's God, and obey him.’
24 The people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey him.’
25 That same day, Joshua made an agreement for the people to accept. There at Shechem, he made a list of rules and laws for them to obey. 26 Joshua wrote these things in the Book of God's Law. Then he took a big stone. He stood it there under the oak tree that was near the Lord's holy place.
27 Joshua said to all the people, ‘Look at this stone! It has heard everything that the Lord has said to us today! It will speak against you if you fail to obey your God!’[c]
28 Then Joshua sent the people away. They went to the parts of the land that now belonged to each of them.
Joshua dies
29 After this, the Lord's servant, Joshua, son of Nun, died at the age of 110. 30 The Israelites buried him in his own land that was at Timnah Serah. That was in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 The people of Israel continued to serve the Lord while Joshua and the old men were still alive. Joshua and those men had seen everything that the Lord had done to help Israel.
32 The Israelites had brought Joseph's bones up from Egypt, to bury him at Shechem.[d] This land was in the field that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father. Jacob had paid them 100 pieces of silver for the land. Now the land belonged to Joseph's descendants.
33 Aaron's son, Eleazar, also died. The people buried him at Gibeah, in the hill country of Ephraim. That land had been given to Eleazar's son Phinehas.
Footnotes
- 24:1 Shechem was an important place. When Abraham came to Shechem, God had said to him, ‘I will give this land to your people.’ See Genesis 12:7. Now the people lived in the land.
- 24:12 ‘fear’ or ‘insects that bite’
- 24:27 The stone could not really hear or speak. But Joshua wanted the people to remember what they had promised to God. The stone would help them to remember their promises.
- 24:32 Genesis 50:22-26
Joshua 24
International Children’s Bible
24 Then all the tribes of Israel met together at Shechem. Joshua called them all together there. Then he called the elders, heads of families, judges and officers of Israel. These men stood before God.
2 Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. I am talking about men like Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped other gods. 3 But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham out of the land on the other side of the river. I led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children. I gave him his son Isaac. 4 And I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau. I gave the land around the mountains of Edom to Esau. But Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt. I caused many terrible things to happen to the Egyptians. Then I brought you people out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. And the Egyptians chased them. There were chariots and men on horses. 7 So the people asked me, the Lord, for help. And I caused great trouble to come to the Egyptians. I caused the sea to cover them. You yourselves saw what I did to the army of Egypt. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.
8 “‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites. This was east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I gave you the power to defeat them. I destroyed them before you. Then you took control of that land. 9 But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, prepared to fight against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I, the Lord, refused to listen to Balaam. So he asked for good things to happen to you! He blessed you many times. I saved you and brought you out of his power.
11 “‘Then you traveled across the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people in the city of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites fought against you. But I allowed you to defeat them all. 12 While your army traveled forward, I sent hornets ahead of them. These hornets made the people leave before you came. So you took the land without using your swords and bows. 13 It was I, the Lord, who gave you that land. I gave you land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities. You eat from vineyards and olive trees. But you did not have to plant them.’”
14 Then Joshua spoke to the people. He said, “Now you have heard the Lord’s words. So you must respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the false gods that your people worshiped. That happened on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Now you must serve the Lord. 15 But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. You must decide whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your people worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “No! We will never stop following the Lord. We will never serve other gods! 17 We know it was the Lord our God who brought our people out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. But the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out. He protected us while we traveled through other lands. 18 Then he helped us defeat the people living in these lands. He helped us defeat the Amorites who lived here. So we will continue to serve the Lord because he is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said, “You will not be able to serve the Lord well enough. He is a holy God. And he is a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. 20 If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause great trouble to come to you. The Lord has been good to you. But if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you here. Do you all know and agree that you have chosen to serve the Lord? Are you all witnesses to this?”
The people answered, “Yes, it’s true! We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”
23 Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the false gods that you have among you. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”
24 Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him.”
25 On that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made the agreement a law for them to follow. This happened at Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he found a large stone. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord’s Holy Tent.
27 Then Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will help you remember what we did today. It was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. It will help you remember what happened. It will stop you from turning against your God.”
Joshua Dies
28 Then Joshua told the people to go back to their homes. And everyone went back to his own land.
29 After that, Joshua son of Nun died. He was 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah. This was in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 The Israelites had served the Lord during the time Joshua was living. And after he died, they continued to serve the Lord. They continued to serve him while their elders were still alive. These were the leaders who had seen what the Lord had done for the Israelites.
Joseph Comes Home
32 When the Israelites left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them. They buried them at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor. (Hamor was the father of Shechem.) Jacob had bought the land for 100 pieces of silver. This land belonged to Joseph’s children.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died. He was buried at Gibeah in the mountains of Ephraim. Gibeah had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.
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