Joshua 24
24
1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel to stand before God.
2Then Joshua said to all the people, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, worshiped other gods. 3But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children, including his son Isaac. 4I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau. I gave the land around the mountains of Edom to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt, where I brought many disasters on the Egyptians. Afterwards I brought you out. 6When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea, and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and men on horses. 7So the people called out to the Lord. And I brought darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea to cover them. You yourselves saw what I did to the army of Egypt. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.
8“ ‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. I destroyed them before you, and you took control of that land. 9But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, prepared to fight against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10but I refused to listen to Balaam. So he asked for good things to happen to you! I saved you and brought you out of his power.
11“ ‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, where the people of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I handed them over to you. 12I sent terror ahead of you to force out two Amorite kings. You took the land without using swords and bows. 13I gave you that land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’ ”
14Then Joshua said to the people, “Now respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16Then the people answered, “We will never stop following the Lord to serve other gods! 17It was the Lord our God who brought our ancestors out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land, but the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out and protected us while we traveled through other lands. 18Then he forced out all the people living in these lands, even the Amorites. So we will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19Then Joshua said, “You are not able to serve the Lord, because he is a holy God and a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. 20If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will send you great trouble. The Lord may have been good to you, but if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”
21But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22Then Joshua said, “You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
The people said, “Yes, we are.”
23Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the gods that you have. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”
24Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will obey him.”
25On that day at Shechem Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made rules and laws for them to follow. 26Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the Lord’s Holy Tent.
27Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will remind you of what we did today. It was here the Lord spoke to us today. It will remind you of what happened so you will not turn against your God.”
Joshua Dies
28Then Joshua sent the people back to their land.
29After that, Joshua son of Nun died at the age of one hundred ten. 30They buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah, in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31The Israelites served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who lived after Joshua who had seen what the Lord had done for Israel.
Joseph Comes Home
32When the Israelites left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them. They buried them at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor (Hamor was the father of Shechem). This land now belonged to Joseph’s children.
33And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah in the mountains of Ephraim, which had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.
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Joshua 24: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Joshua 24
24
Joshua Speaks to the People at Shechem
1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the presence of God. 2#Gen 11.27Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has to say: ‘Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the River Euphrates and worshipped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. 3#Gen 12.1–9; 21.1–3Then I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4#Gen 25.24–26; 36.8; 46.1–7; Deut 2.5and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his possession, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5#Ex 3.1—12.42Later I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought great trouble on Egypt. But I led you out; 6#Ex 14.1–31I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and cavalry. But when your ancestors got to the Red Sea 7they cried out to me for help, and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians. I made the sea come rolling over the Egyptians and drown them. You know what I did to Egypt.
“ ‘You lived in the desert a long time. 8#Num 21.21–35Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought you, but I gave you victory over them. You took their land, and I destroyed them as you advanced. 9#Num 22.1—24.25Then the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, fought against you. He sent word to Balaam son of Beor and asked him to put a curse on you. 10But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you, and in this way I rescued you from Balak. 11#Josh 3.14–17; 6.1–21You crossed the Jordan 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 all. 12#Ex 23.28; Deut 7.20As you advanced, I threw them into panic in order to drive out the two Amorite kings. Your swords and bows had nothing to do with it. 13#Deut 6.10–11I gave you a land that you had never cultivated and cities that you had not built. Now you are living there and eating grapes from vines that you did not plant, and olives from trees that you did not plant.’
14“Now then,” Joshua continued, “honour the LORD and serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the LORD. 15If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshipped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the LORD.”
16The people replied, “We would never leave the LORD to serve other gods! 17The LORD our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed. 18As we advanced into this land, the LORD drove out all the Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the LORD; he is our God.”
19Joshua said to the people, “But you may not be able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals, 20and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before.”
21The people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
22Joshua said to them, “You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve the LORD.”
“Yes,” they said, “we are witnesses.”
23“Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have,” he demanded, “and pledge your loyalty to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
24The people then said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God. We will obey his commands.”
25So Joshua made a covenant for#24.25 for; or with. the people that day, and there at Shechem he gave them laws and rules to follow. 26Joshua wrote these commands in the book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in the LORD's sanctuary. 27He said to all the people, “This stone will be our witness. It has heard all the words that the LORD has spoken to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God.” 28Then Joshua sent the people away, and they all returned to their own part of the land.
Joshua and Eleazar Die
29After that, the LORD's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of 110. 30#Josh 19.49–50They buried him on his own land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
31As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the LORD, and after his death they continued to do so as long as those leaders were alive who had seen for themselves everything that the LORD had done for Israel.
32 #
Gen 33.19; 50.24–25; Ex 13.19; Jn 4.5; Acts 7.16 The body of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought from Egypt, was buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. This land was inherited by Joseph's descendants.
33Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, the town in the hill country of Ephraim which had been given to his son Phinehas.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.