Joshua 24
King James Version
24 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
7 And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11 And you went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.
Joshua 24
Expanded Bible
24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel to ·stand [present themselves] before God.
2 Then Joshua said to all the people, “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. Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, worshiped other gods. 3 But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through the land of Canaan [Gen. 12:1–3; 17:4–8]. And I ·gave him many children, including [or multiplied his descendants, beginning with] his son Isaac [Gen. 21]. 4 I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau [Gen. 25]. I gave the land around the ·mountains [hill country] of ·Edom [C Hebrew: Seir] to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt [Gen. 46]. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt, where I ·brought many disasters on the Egyptians [L plagued Egypt by what I did in their midst; Ex. 1–11]. Afterwards I brought you out [Ex. 12]. 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the ·Red Sea [L Sea], and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and men on horses. 7 So the people called out to the Lord. And ·I [L he] brought darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea to cover them [Ex. 13–15]. ·You yourselves [L Your eyes] saw what I did ·to the army of [L in] Egypt. After that, you lived in the ·desert [wilderness] for a long time.
8 “‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. I destroyed them before you, and you took ·control [possession] of that land [Num. 21; Deut. 2–3]. 9 But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, ·prepared to fight [L arose and fought] against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you [Num. 22–24], 10 but I refused to listen to Balaam. So he ·asked for good things to happen to you [L kept blessing you]! I ·saved you and brought you out of his power [L delivered you out of his hand].
11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, where the ·people [or leaders] of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I ·handed them over to you [L gave them into your hand]. 12 I sent ·terror [or the hornet; C the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain] ahead of you to ·force [drive] out two Amorite kings [2:10; Num. 21:21–35]. ·You took the land without using swords and bows [L It was not by your sword or by your bow]. 13 I gave you that land where you had not worked. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’”
14 Then Joshua said to the people, “Now ·respect [fear; be in awe of] the Lord and serve him ·fully [faithfully; in truth] and sincerely. ·Throw [Put] away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the ·Euphrates River [L River] and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 But if ·you don’t want [L it is undesirable/evil in your eyes] to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the ·Euphrates River [L River], or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my ·family [L house], we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “·We will never stop following [L Far be it from us to forsake] the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God who brought ·our [L us and our] ancestors out of Egypt. ·We were slaves in that land, but […L out of the house of slavery, and] the Lord did great ·things [L signs] for us there. He brought us out and ·protected [preserved] us while we traveled through other lands. 18 Then he ·forced [drove] out all the people living in these lands, even the Amorites. So we will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said, “You are not able to serve the Lord, because he is a holy God [Lev. 19:2] and a jealous God [Ex. 20:5]. If you ·turn against him [rebel] and sin, he will not forgive you. 20 If you ·leave [forsake; abandon] the Lord and serve ·other [foreign] gods, he will ·send you great trouble [bring disaster on you]. The Lord may have been good to you, but if you turn against him, he will ·destroy [consume] you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
The people said, “Yes, we are.”
23 Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the [L foreign] gods that ·you have [are in your midst]. ·Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart [L Bend your heart toward the Lord, the God of Israel].”
24 Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will obey him.”
25 On that day at Shechem Joshua made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] for the people. He made ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [regulations] for them to follow. 26 Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law] of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the Lord’s ·Holy Tent [sanctuary; shrine; holy place].
27 Joshua said to all the people, “·See [T Behold] this stone! It will ·remind you of what we did today [L be a witness against you]. ·It was here the Lord spoke to us today [L It has heard all the words the Lord said to us]. It will ·remind you of what happened so you will not [be a witness against you, lest you] ·turn against [are untrue to; deal falsely with] your God.”
Joshua Dies
28 Then Joshua sent the people back ·to their land [L each to their own inheritance].
29 After that, Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 30 They buried him in ·his own land [L the land of his inheritance] at Timnath Serah, in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 The Israelites served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who lived after Joshua who had ·seen [experienced; known] what the Lord had done for Israel.
Joseph Comes Home
32 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them [Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19; Heb. 11:22]. They buried them at Shechem, in the ·land [piece of ground] Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor (Hamor was the father of Shechem) [Gen. 33:19]. This land ·now belonged to [became the inheritance of] Joseph’s children.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim, which had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.
Joshua 24
New King James Version
The Covenant at Shechem(A)
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to (B)Shechem and (C)called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they (D)presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: (E)‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of [a]the River in old times; and (F)they served other gods. 3 (G)Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of [b]the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his [c]descendants and (H)gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave (I)Jacob and Esau. To (J)Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, (K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 (L)Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and (M)I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.
6 ‘Then I (N)brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 So they cried out to the Lord; and He put (O)darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And (P)your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness (Q)a long time. 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, (R)and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then (S)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and (T)sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 (U)But I would not listen to Balaam; (V)therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 Then (W)you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And (X)the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. 12 (Y)I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but (Z)not with your sword or with your bow. 13 I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and (AA)cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14 (AB)“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in (AC)sincerity and in truth, and (AD)put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of [d]the River and (AE)in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, (AF)choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether (AG)the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [e]the River, or (AH)the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. (AI)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. (AJ)We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, (AK)“You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a (AL)holy God. He is (AM)a jealous God; (AN)He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 (AO)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, (AP)then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”
21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”
22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AQ)you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses!”
23 “Now therefore,” he said, (AR)“put away the foreign gods which are among you, and (AS)incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”
24 And the people (AT)said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
25 So Joshua (AU)made[f] a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance (AV)in Shechem.
26 Then Joshua (AW)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took (AX)a large stone, and (AY)set it up there (AZ)under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be (BA)a witness to us, for (BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So (BC)Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.
Death of Joshua and Eleazar
29 (BD)Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at (BE)Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.
31 (BF)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had (BG)known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32 (BH)The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground (BI)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [g]pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33 And (BJ)Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to (BK)Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:2 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:3 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:3 Lit. seed
- Joshua 24:14 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:15 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:25 Lit. cut a covenant
- Joshua 24:32 Heb. qesitah, an unknown ancient measure of weight
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
