Joshua 24
24
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
1Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and for their judges and for their officers; they presented themselves before God. 2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, lived beyond the [Euphrates] River in ancient times; and they served other gods. 3Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the [Euphrates] River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants, and I gave him Isaac. 4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave [the hill country of] Mount Seir to possess; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7When they cried out to the Lord [for help], 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 you lived in the wilderness #Lit many days.a long time (forty years). 8Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land and I destroyed them before you. 9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10But I would not listen to Balaam. Therefore he had to bless you, so I saved you from Balak’s hand. 11You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite; and so I gave them into your hand. 12I sent the hornet [that is, the terror of you] before you, which drove the two kings of the Amorites out before you; but it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13I gave you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you live in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
14“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; remove the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16The people answered, “Far be it from us to abandon (reject) 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 bondage, and who did these great signs (miracles) in our sight and kept us safe all along the way that we went and among all the peoples among whom we passed. 18The Lord drove all the peoples out from before us, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord [if you serve any other gods], for He is a holy God; He is a #I.e. intolerant of unfaithfulness.jealous God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]. He will not forgive your transgression [of His law] or your sins. 20If you do abandon (reject) the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume and destroy you after He has done you good.” 21The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve [only] the Lord.” 22Joshua then said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23“Now then, remove the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your hearts toward the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will listen to and obey His voice.” 25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem. 26And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in [the courtyard of] the sanctuary of the Lord. 27Joshua then said to all the people, “Look, this stone shall serve as a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; so it shall be a witness against you, so that [afterward] you do not deny your God.” 28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to [the territory of] his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29It happened after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, at the age of a hundred and ten years. 30They buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.
31Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the plot of land which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and it became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph. 33And Eleazar [the priest], the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah [on the hill] of Phinehas his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.
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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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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.