Joshua
Chapter 24
1 Joshua brought all the Israelite tribes to Shechem, called the Israeli elders, leaders, judges, and officials, and they came before God.
2 Joshua told all the people, “God says, ‘Long ago, your ancestors lived across the river, including Terah, Abraham’s father, and Nachor’s father, and they worshiped different gods.’”
3 I brought your father Abraham from across the river, guided him through all of Canaan, increased his descendants, and gave him Isaac.
4 I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the mountain of Seir to own, but Jacob and his family moved to Egypt.
5 I sent Moses and Aaron, gave Egypt troubles like I did there, and then I rescued you.
6 I led your ancestors out of Egypt; you reached the sea, and the Egyptians chased your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
7 When they called out to God, he made darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he made the sea cover them; you saw what I did in Egypt, and you lived in the desert for a long time.
8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived across the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You took over their land, and I wiped them out before you.
9 Then Balak, Zippor’s son and king of Moab, got up and fought against Israel, and sent for Balaam, Beor’s son, to curse you.
10 But I refused to listen to Balaam; so he continued to bless you, and I saved you from his power.
11 You crossed the Jordan River and reached Jericho. The people of Jericho, Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought you, but I gave you victory over them.
12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it forced the two Amorite kings out, not by your sword or bow.
13 I have given you land you didn’t work for, cities you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat from vineyards and olive groves you didn’t plant.
14 Now respect God and serve him honestly and truly. Stop following the gods your ancestors worshiped across the river and in Egypt, and serve God instead.
15 If serving God seems bad to you, decide today who you’ll serve: the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the river, or the Amorites’ gods where you live. As for me and my family, we will serve God.
16 The people responded, “No way should we leave God to worship other gods.”
17 For God, our God, is the one who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt, the place of slavery, and performed those great wonders before our eyes, and protected us on our entire journey, and among all the nations we traveled through.
18 God drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we will also serve God, because he is our God.
19 Joshua told the people, “You cannot serve God because he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your wrongdoings or your sins.”
20 If you abandon God and serve other gods, then he will change and harm you, destroying you after he has been good to you.
21 The people told Joshua, “No, we will serve God.”
22 Joshua told the people, “You are your own witnesses that you have picked God to serve Him.” And they replied, “We are witnesses.”
23 So he said, “Now get rid of the foreign gods you have, and turn your hearts to God, the God of Israel.”
24 The people told Joshua, “We will serve our God and listen to what he says.”
25 Joshua made an agreement with the people that day and gave them rules and laws in Shechem.
26 Joshua wrote these words in God’s Law Book, and put up a big rock under the oak tree near God’s holy place.
27 Joshua told all the people, “Look, this stone will be our witness. It has heard all of God’s words that he spoke to us. It will be a witness for you, so you don’t deny your God.”
28 Joshua sent the people away, each to their own land.
29 After these events, Joshua, son of Nun and God’s servant, died at the age of 110.
30 They buried him in his land at Timnathserah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served God during Joshua’s lifetime and the lifetime of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all that God did for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites carried from Egypt, were buried in Shechem, on a piece of land that Jacob purchased from Hamor’s sons, Shechem’s father, for a hundred silver coins. This land became Joseph’s descendants’ inheritance.
33 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, died; they buried him on a hill belonging to his son Phinehas, which he received in the Ephraim mountains.