God's New Bible

The Book of Joshua

Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic

 Back | Contents | Next 

- Chapter 24 -

1
Joshua brought together the elders, leader, judges, and officers of the nation of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2
Joshua said to all of them, “This is what Yahweh, the God we Israelite people worship, is saying: ’Long ago, your ancestors, including Abraham’s father Terah and Abraham’s younger brother Nahor, lived far beyond the Euphrates River, where they worshiped other gods.
3
But I took your ancestor Abraham, and I led him into the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants through his son Isaac.
4
I gave Isaac his own sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his own, but I sent Jacob and his children down to Egypt, where they lived for many years.
5
I sent Moses and his brother Aaron to Egypt, and I caused the people of Egypt to suffer many terrible plagues. After that, I brought your people out of Egypt.
6
When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the sea. The Egyptian army pursued them with chariots and on horseback, as far as the Sea of Reeds.”
7
Joshua continued to speak: “When you pleaded to Yahweh for help, he caused darkness to come between the nation of Israel and the Egyptian army, and he covered the Egyptian army with the waters of the sea so that your enemies were drowned. This is what Yahweh says: ’You saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the desert for many years.
8
Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan River (the other side of the Jordan River from us here today). They fought against you, but I made you defeat them and destroy them; you captured their land. But I was the one who actually destroyed them, and I let you see everything that I did for you.
9
Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared his army and attacked Israel. He sent for Beor’s son Balaam, and he told him to call for a curse from Yahweh on your people.
10
But I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, I made him bless you, and I saved you from his curse.
11
Then you all crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The leaders of Jericho fought against you, as did the armies of the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hethites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I made all of you more powerful than they were, and you defeated them all.
12
I am the one who caused them to panic. They acted as if they were being chased by hornets. And you drove out the two kings of the Amorites as your army moved ahead and pushed them away. But it was not because of your swords or your bows and arrows, but it was because that I, Yahweh, was fighting on your side.
13
So I gave you a land that you had not cleared or plowed, and I gave you cities that you did not build. Now you live in those cities, and you eat the grapes from grapevines that you did not plant, and you eat olives from trees that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

(Deuteronomy 10:12–22)
14
Joshua continued to speak: “Now be afraid and be in awe of Yahweh. Worship him sincerely, and be faithful when you make promises to him. Throw away the idols that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the far side of the Euphrates River, and when they lived in Egypt. Worship Yahweh alone.
15
If you do not want to worship Yahweh, then decide today what gods you will worship. In that case, you must decide whether you will worship the gods of your ancestors, the gods that they worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or whether you will worship the gods of the Amorites, the gods that those people worshiped in this land where you now live. But as for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”
16
The Israelite people answered, “We will always worship Yahweh! We promise that we will never worship or bow down to any other gods!
17
It was Yahweh who brought our ancestors up out of Egypt. He rescued us from that land, where they were slaves. We saw him perform great miracles, and he protected us when we were traveling. He protected us wherever we went; he kept us safe from the armies of many kings. We became a great nation, and we have entered this land.
18
Yahweh drove out all the people before us. He defeated the Amorites, who lived in the land. So we will worship and bow down to Yahweh, for he is our God.”
19
But Joshua replied to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh! He is a holy God, and he will not allow you to worship other gods. He will not forgive you for breaking his laws, or when you sin,
20
if you forsake Yahweh and worship other gods. If you forget him, he will turn and do the same harm to you as he did to your enemies, and he will burn you as with fire! He will do all this to you, after he has been so good to you, if you turn your back on him and leave him.”
21
But the people answered Joshua, “No, we will worship Yahweh.”
22
Then Joshua said, “You are bearing witness to what you have said. You have chosen Yahweh and you are promising to worship him alone.” They replied, “Yes, that is what we promise to do.”
23
Then Joshua said, “You must throw away all the other idols you have with you, and with all the strength you have within you, you must turn to Yahweh and worship him as your God, and no other.”
24
The people replied, “We will worship Yahweh, our God, and we will obey him alone.”
25
On that same day, Joshua made a covenant with the people. There at Shechem, he wrote down for them all the decrees and laws that Yahweh commanded them to obey.
26
He wrote down all the words that were in the book of the law of God. He took a great stone and set it up there at Shechem, under the large oak tree that grew beside the place where they worshiped Yahweh.
27
Joshua said to all the people, “Look! This stone will bear testimony against us. This is the place where we promised that we would serve Yahweh. This stone will be a place to remember our promise to Yahweh, and a place to remind us of what will happen to us if we do not keep our promise to God.”
28
Then Joshua sent the people away, and they went to the places that were assigned to them.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

(Judges 2:6–9)
29
After these things happened, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died. He was 110 years old when he died.
30
They buried his body on his own property in Timnathserah. It is in the north hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31
The people of Israel worshiped Yahweh as long as the elders who had served with Joshua were alive; they had seen everything that Yahweh had done for Israel.
32
Joseph’s bones, which the people of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought long ago for the price of one hundred pieces of silver. He had bought it from Hamor, the father of Shechem. That piece of land became a permanent possession for Joseph’s descendants.
33
Eleazar son of Aaron, also died. They buried his body at Gibeah, the city that belonged to Phinehas, his son, in the hill country of Ephraim.
1
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
2
Joshua said to all the people, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other gods.
3
I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his offspring,(a) and gave him Isaac.
4
I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5
“‘I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
6
I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea.
7
When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days.
8
“‘I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you.
9
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you,
10
but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand.
11
“‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.
12
I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
13
I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

(Deuteronomy 10:12–22)
14
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve the LORD.
15
If it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
16
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 out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed.
18
The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD; for he is our God.”
19
Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
20
If you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good.”
21
The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.”
22
Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD yourselves, to serve him.” They said, “We are witnesses.”
23
Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
24
The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God, and we will listen to his voice.”
25
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26
Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27
Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the LORD’s words which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.”
28
So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

(Judges 2:6–9)
29
After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old.
30
They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
31
Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the LORD, that he had worked for Israel.
32
They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver.(b) They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33
Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

Footnotes

(a)24:3 or, seed
(b)24:32 Hebrew: kesitahs. A kesitah was a kind of silver coin.