‏ Joshua 24

Joshua Reviews Israel’s History

1 Then aJoshua 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. 2Joshua 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, bTerah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3Then cI took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and dmultiplied his
Lit seed
descendants and gave him fIsaac.
4To Isaac I gave gJacob and Esau, and hto Esau I gave Mount Seir, to possess it; but iJacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5Then jI sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt
Lit according to
by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out.
6So I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and lyou came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the
Lit Sea of Reeds
Red Sea.
7But 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 nyou lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8Then oI 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. 9Then pBalak 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. 10But I qwas not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand. 11 rYou crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and sthe Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Therefore tI handed them over to you. 12Then I usent the hornet before you and it
Lit drove them out
drove out the two kings of the Amorites from you-- wnot by your sword nor your bow.
13And xI 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,
Or revere
zfear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and
Or faithfulness
truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15But 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 abthe 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; 17for 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. 18The 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, acfor He is a holy God. He is ada jealous God; aeHe will not forgive your wrongdoing or your sins. 20 afIf 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.” 21And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that agyou 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 ahincline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24And aithe people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and
Lit listen to
obey His voice.”
25 akSo Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26And Joshua alwrote 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. 27Then Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, amthis stone shall be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke
Lit with
to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.”
28Then 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. 30And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in aoTimnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

31 apIsrael served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who
Lit prolonged days after
survived Joshua, and had known every deed of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

32 Now arthey buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the plot of land aswhich Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred
Heb qesitah
pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.
33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son auPhinehas, which was given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.
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