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
Joshua 24
New American Standard Bible
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates 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 Euphrates River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (D)multiplied his [a]descendants 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 plagued Egypt [b]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 So 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 [c]Red Sea. 7 But when they cried out to the Lord, 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 a long time. 8 Then (L)I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; but I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land when I eliminated them before you. 9 Then (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel, and he sent messengers and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (N)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand. 11 (O)You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (P)the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Therefore (Q)I handed them over to you. 12 Then I (R)sent the hornet before you and it [d]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from you—(S)not by your sword nor your bow. 13 And (T)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 the Lord”
14 “Now, therefore, [e](U)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [f]truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or (V)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would abandon 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 slaves, and did these great signs in our sight and watched over us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (W)for He is a holy God. He is (X)a jealous God; (Y)He will not forgive your wrongdoing or your sins. 20 (Z)If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and destroy you after He has done good to you.” 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 (AA)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now then, do away with the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (AB)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And (AC)the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and [g]obey His voice.” 25 (AD)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance 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 the Lord. 27 Then Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (AF)this stone shall be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [h]to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 Now it came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, 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)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [i]survived Joshua, and had known every deed of the Lord 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 plot of land (AJ)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred [j]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son (AK)Phinehas, which was given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:3 Lit seed
- Joshua 24:5 Lit according to
- Joshua 24:6 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 24:12 Lit drove them out
- Joshua 24:14 Or revere
- Joshua 24:14 Or faithfulness
- Joshua 24:24 Lit listen to
- Joshua 24:27 Lit with
- Joshua 24:31 Lit prolonged days after
- Joshua 24:32 Heb qesitah
Joshua 24
English Standard Version
The Covenant Renewal at Shechem
24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel (A)to Shechem and (B)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And (C)they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, (D)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,[a] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and (E)they served other gods. 3 (F)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River[b] and (G)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. (H)I gave him Isaac. 4 And to Isaac I gave (I)Jacob and Esau. (J)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, (K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 (L)And I sent Moses and Aaron, (M)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and (N)afterward I brought you out.
6 “‘Then (O)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (P)you came to the sea. (Q)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 (R)And when they cried to the Lord, (S)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians (T)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; (U)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. (V)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. 8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. (W)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 (X)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. (Y)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 (Z)but I would not listen to Balaam. (AA)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 (AB)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, (AC)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also (AD)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. 12 And I sent (AE)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was (AF)not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored (AG)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’
Choose Whom You Will Serve
14 (AH)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. (AI)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 (AJ)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, (AK)choose this day whom you will serve, whether (AL)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or (AM)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. (AN)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is (AO)a holy God. He is (AP)a jealous God; (AQ)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 (AR)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then (AS)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AT)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then (AU)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” 25 So Joshua (AV)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place (AW)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua (AX)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And (AY)he took a large stone and set it up there (AZ)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (BA)this stone shall be a witness against us, for (BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” 28 So Joshua (BC)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
Joshua's Death and Burial
29 (BD)After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in his own inheritance at (BE)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.
31 (BF)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua (BG)and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.
32 (BH)As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land (BI)that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.[c] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of (BJ)Phinehas his son, which had been given him in (BK)the hill country of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:2 Hebrew the River
- Joshua 24:3 That is, the Euphrates; also verses 14, 15
- Joshua 24:32 Hebrew for a hundred qesitah; a unit of money of uncertain value
Joshua 24
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
24 And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:
2 And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served strange gods.
3 And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia: and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and I multiplied his seed,
4 And gave him Isaac: and to him again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and wonders.
6 And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea: and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.
7 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time:
8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorrhite, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and slew them.
9 And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam son of Beor, to curse you:
10 And I would not hear him, but on the contrary I blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you, the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Gergesite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands.
12 And I sent before you hornets: and I drove them out from their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy sword nor with thy bow.
13 And I gave you a land, in which you had not laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not, vineyards and oliveyards, which you planted not.
14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15 But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
16 And the people answered, and said: God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.
17 The Lord our God he brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: and did very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.
18 And he hath cast out all the nations, the Amorrhite the inhabitant of the land into which we are come. Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.
19 And Josue said to the people: You will not be able to serve the Lord: for he is a holy God, and mighty and jealous, and will not forgive your wickedness and sins.
20 If you leave the Lord, and serve strange gods, he will turn, and will afflict you, and will destroy you after all the good he hath done you.
21 And the people said to Josue: No, it shall not be so as thou sayest, but we will serve the Lord.
22 And Josue said to the people: You are witnesses, that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they answered: We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore, said he, put away strange gods from among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel.
24 And the people said to Josue: We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his commandments.
25 Josue therefore on that day made a covenant, and set before the people commandments and judgments in Sichem.
26 And he wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord: and he took a great stone, and set it under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.
27 And he said to all the people: Behold this stone shall be a testimony unto you, that it hath heard all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken to you: lest perhaps hereafter you will deny it, and lie to the Lord your God.
28 And he sent the people away every one to their own possession.
29 And after these things Josue the son of Null the servant of the Lord died, being a hundred and ten years old:
30 And they buried him in the border of his possession in Thamnathsare, which is situate in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas.
31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Josue, and of the ancients that lived a long time after Josue, and that had known all the works of the Lord which he had done in Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had taken out of Egypt, they buried in Sichem, in that part of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hemor the father of Sichem, for a hundred young ewes, and it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.
33 Eleazar also the son of Aaron died: and they buried him in Gabaath that belongeth to Phinees his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)