Joshua 24

1And 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; and they presented themselves before God.

1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called for the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they stood before God.

2And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.

2Joshua said to all the people, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago, your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River. This included Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, and they worshiped other gods.

3And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

3But I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants and gave him a son named Isaac.

4And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as his own, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

5And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof: and afterward I brought you out.

5Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought terrible plagues on Egypt. After I did those things among them, I brought you out of that land.

6And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea.

6When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea. The Egyptians chased your ancestors with chariots and horsemen all the way to the Red Sea.

7And when they cried out unto Jehovah, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days.

7When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He made the sea flow over them and cover them. Your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

8And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

8I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them as you advanced.

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;

9Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you.

10but I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

10But I refused to listen to Balaam, so he ended up blessing you instead. In this way, I rescued you from him.

11And ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.

11Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I handed them all over to you.

12And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

12I sent panic and swarms of hornets ahead of you to drive out the two Amorite kings. It was not your own swords or bows that did it.

13And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not labored, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell therein; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

13I gave you a land you did not work for and cities you did not build. Now you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.

14Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah.

14So now, respect the Lord and serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord.

15And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.

15But if you think it is wrong to serve the Lord, then choose today who you will serve. Will it be the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.'

16And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;

16The people answered, 'We would never abandon the Lord to serve other gods!

17for Jehovah our God, he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed;

17The Lord our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. We saw the great miracles he did. He protected us throughout our entire journey and among all the nations we passed through.

18and Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land: therefore we also will serve Jehovah; for he is our God.

18The Lord drove out all the people who lived in the land before us, including the Amorites. So we also will serve the Lord, because he is our God.'

19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins.

19But Joshua said to the people, 'You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God and a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.

20If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

20If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and bring disaster on you. He will destroy you, even though he has been good to you before.'

21And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah.

21But the people said to Joshua, 'No! We will serve the Lord.'

22And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

22Joshua said to the people, 'You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.' They replied, 'Yes, we are witnesses.'

23Now therefore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the God of Israel.

23'Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you,' Joshua said, 'and commit your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.'

24And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken.

24The people said to Joshua, 'We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.'

25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

25That day Joshua made a covenant for the people. At Shechem, he gave them laws and rules to follow.

26And 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 Jehovah.

26Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the Lord’s holy place.

27And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.

27Joshua said to all the people, 'Look, this stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord spoke to us. It will stand as a witness against you so that you do not lie to your God.'

28So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance.

28Then Joshua sent the people away, and everyone went back to their own land.

29And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old.

29After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten.

30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.

30They buried him on his own land at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Jehovah, that he had wrought for Israel.

31The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

32And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

32The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem. They were buried in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of silver. This land became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.

33Eleazar son of Aaron also died. They buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.