Joshua 24
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Review of Israel’s History
24 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem(A) and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.(B) 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah,(C) the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants.(D) I gave him Isaac,(E) 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.(F) I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession,(G) but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.(H)
5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron;(I) I plagued Egypt by what I did there and afterward I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea,(J) the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. 7 Your fathers cried out to the Lord, so He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8 “‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan.(K) They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you. 9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab,(L) set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.
11 “‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.(M) The people of Jericho—as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—fought against you, but I handed them over to you. 12 I sent the hornet[a](N) ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings(O) before you. It was not by your sword or bow. 13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build,(P) though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’
The Covenant Renewal
14 “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth.(Q) Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped(R) beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh. 15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.(S) As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”
16 The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery,(T) and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. 18 The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because He is our God.”
19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship Yahweh, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God;(U) He will not remove your transgressions and sins.(V) 20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, He will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy(W) you, after He has been good to you.”
21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”
22 Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship Yahweh.”
“We are witnesses,” they said.
23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey Him.”
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. 26 Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God;(X) he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us,(Y) for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Burial of Three Leaders
29 After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim(Z) north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel worshiped Yahweh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua(AA) and who had experienced all the works Yahweh had done for Israel.
32 Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,(AB) were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 qesitahs.[b](AC) It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,[c] which had been given to his son Phinehas(AD) in the hill country of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:12 Or sent terror
- Joshua 24:32 The value of this currency is unknown.
- Joshua 24:33 = the Hill
Joshua 24
Legacy Standard Bible
Joshua Gathers Israel
24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the [a]River, namely, (B)Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then (C)I took your father Abraham from beyond the [b]River and led him through all the land of Canaan and (D)multiplied his seed and gave him (E)Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave (F)Jacob and Esau, and (G)to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but (H)Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then (I)I sent Moses and Aaron, and I smote Egypt [c]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (J)you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the [d]Red Sea. 7 Then they cried out to Yahweh; He put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And (K)you lived in the wilderness for many days. 8 Then (L)I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (N)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you from his hand. 11 (O)And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (P)the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus (Q)I gave them into your hand. 12 Then I (R)sent the hornet before you, and it [e]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but (S)not by your sword or your bow. 13 (T)And I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
We Will Serve Yahweh Our God
14 “So now, [f](U)fear Yahweh and serve Him in integrity and [g]truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the [h]River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. 15 If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or (V)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”
16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh to serve other gods; 17 for Yahweh our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and who did these great signs in our sight and kept us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 And Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve Yahweh, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve Yahweh, (W)for He is a holy God. He is (X)a jealous God; (Y)He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 (Z)If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve Yahweh.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AA)you have chosen for yourselves Yahweh, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (AB)incline your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.” 24 (AC)And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to His voice.” 25 (AD)So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and a judgment in Shechem. 26 And Joshua (AE)wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (AF)this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which He spoke [i]to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 Now it happened that after these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in (AG)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.
31 (AH)And Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [j]survived Joshua, who knew all the work of Yahweh which He had done for Israel.
32 Now (AI)they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the portion of the field (AJ)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [k]qesitah; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him [l]at Gibeah of (AK)Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:2 The Euphrates River
- Joshua 24:3 The Euphrates River
- Joshua 24:5 Lit according to
- Joshua 24:6 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 24:12 Lit drove them out
- Joshua 24:14 Or reverence
- Joshua 24:14 Or faithfulness
- Joshua 24:14 The Euphrates River
- Joshua 24:27 Lit with
- Joshua 24:31 Lit prolonged days after
- Joshua 24:32 Ancient currency, cf. Gen 33:19; Job 42:11
- Joshua 24:33 Or on the hill
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