Joshua 24:1-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Tribes Renew the Covenant
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.(A) 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.(B) 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac,(C) 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.(D) 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst, and afterward I brought you out.(E) 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.[a](F) 7 When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them, and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterward 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; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.(G) 9 Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you,(H) 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you, so I rescued you out of his hand. 11 When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as well as the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I handed them over to you.(I) 12 I sent swarms of hornets[b] ahead of you that drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.(J) 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.(K)
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Joshua 24:1-13
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Meeting at Shechem
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and he summoned the elders of Israel, its heads, its judges, and its officers, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Then Joshua told all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said.”
God’s Message
From ancient times your ancestors, including Terah, who was the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they served other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from across the River, and I caused him to walk through the whole land of Canaan. I multiplied his seed,[a] and I gave Isaac to him, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted Egypt with the plagues I sent there. Afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out from Egypt, and you came to the sea. With chariots and charioteers the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea. 7 They cried out to the Lord, and he set darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea upon them so that it covered them. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for many days.[b]
8 I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan, and they fought against you. But I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land after I had destroyed them before you.
9 Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he blessed you time after time. In this way I rescued you from his power.
11 Then you crossed over the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho and the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites fought against you, but I gave them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you, and it drove them out before you, as it drove out the two kings of the Amorites.
It was not by your sword and not by your bow!
13 So I have given you a land for which you did not labor. I gave you cities that you did not build, but you have been living in them. I gave you vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, but you are eating from them.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:3 Or his descendants. Retention of the literal term seed highlights the connection with the Messianic promises to Eve and to Abraham all the way down to Christ.
- Joshua 24:7 The many days here was about forty years.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.