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. 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. (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. 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. (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.

“‘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. (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. 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. (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.’

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:2 Hebrew the River
  2. Joshua 24:3 That is, the Euphrates; also verses 14, 15

The Lord’s Covenant Renewed

24 Then Joshua summoned all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers. So they came and presented themselves to God.

Joshua said to the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River,[a] and they worshiped other gods. But I took your ancestor Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir, while Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt; and afterward I brought you out as a free people. But when your ancestors arrived at the Red Sea,[b] the Egyptians chased after you with chariots and charioteers. When your ancestors cried out to the Lord, I put darkness between you and the Egyptians. I brought the sea crashing down on the Egyptians, drowning them. With your very own eyes you saw what I did. Then you lived in the wilderness for many years.

“Finally, I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I destroyed them before you. I gave you victory over them, and you took possession of their land. Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, started a war against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to him. Instead, I made Balaam bless you, and so I rescued you from Balak.

11 “When you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory over them. 12 And I sent terror[c] ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory. 13 I gave you land you had not worked on, and I gave you towns you did not build—the towns where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:2 Hebrew the river; also in 24:3, 14, 15.
  2. 24:6 Hebrew sea of reeds.
  3. 24:12 Often rendered the hornet. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.