^17 (A)You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. ¹⁸ And the Lord has declared today that you are ^(B)a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,

^15 (A)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(B)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(C)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(D)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(E)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 ^(F)a holy God. He is ^(G)a jealous God; ^(H)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (I)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(J)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 ^(K)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(L)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.”

¹⁰ “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes,^[a] your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little ones, your wives, and the ^(A)sojourner who is in your camp, from ^(B)the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, ¹² so that you may enter into the ^(C)sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, ¹³ that he may ^(D)establish you today as his people, and that ^(E)he may be your God, as he promised you, and ^(F)as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ¹⁴ It is not with you alone ^(G)that I am making this sworn covenant, ¹⁵ but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, ^(H)and with whoever is not here with us today.