1
And 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 .
2
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel : Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river , Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor , and they served other gods .
3
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river , and led him throughout the land of Canaan , and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac .
4
And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau ; and I gave unto Esau mount Seir , to possess it; and Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt .
5
And I sent Moses and Aaron , and I plagued Egypt , according to that which I did among them; and afterwards I brought you out.
6
And I brought your fathers out of Egypt , and ye came unto the sea ; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea .
7
Then they cried to Jehovah , and 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 a long time.
8
And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan , and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand , and ye took possession of their land , and I destroyed them from before you.
9
And Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab , arose and warred against Israel , and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;
10
but I would not hearken unto Balaam , and he blessed you expressly, and I delivered you out of his hand .
11
And ye went over the Jordan , and came unto Jericho , and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites , and the Girgashites , the Hivites , and the Jebusites ; and I delivered them into your hand .
12
And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, [as] the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword , nor with thy bow .
13
And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat .
14
And now fear Jehovah and serve him in perfectness and in truth ; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river , and in Egypt ; and serve Jehovah .
15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah , choose you this day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods whom your fathers that were on the other side of the river served , or the gods of the Amorite, in whose land ye dwell ; but as for me and my house , we will serve Jehovah .
16
And the people answered and said , Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah , to serve other gods ;
17
for Jehovah our God , he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt , from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs before our eyes , and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed !
18
And Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, and the Amorites the inhabitants of the land : so therefore we will serve Jehovah , for he is our God .
19
And Joshua said to the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah , for he is a holy God ; he is a jealous ùGod; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins .
20
If ye forsake Jehovah , and serve strange gods , then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
21
And the people said to Joshua , No; but we will serve Jehovah .
22
And 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 .
23
Now therefore put away the strange gods that are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah the God of Israel .
24
And the people said unto Joshua , Jehovah our God will we serve , and to his voice will we hearken .
25
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day , and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem .
26
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God , and took a great stone , and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah .
27
And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us , for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spoke unto us ; and it shall be a witness against you, lest ye deny your God .
28
And Joshua dismissed the people , every man to his inheritance .
29
And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah , died , a hundred and ten years old .
30
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim , on the north side of the mountain of Gaash.
31
And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua , and all the days of the elders whose days were prolonged after Joshua , and who had known all the works of Jehovah , which he had done for Israel .
32
And the bones of Joseph , which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt , buried they in Shechem in the portion of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hamor , Shechem 's father , for a hundred kesitahs; and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph .
33
And Eleazar the son of Aaron died ; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son , which had been given him in mount Ephraim .