1 ¶ And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and for their princes and for their judges and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God.

Then Joshua gathered all the families of Israel to Shechem. He called for the leaders of Israel, the heads of the families and those who judged between what is right or wrong. And they showed themselves before God.

2 A nd Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Long ago your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.

Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers lived on the other side of the River. There was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. And they worshiped other gods.

3 A nd I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river and led him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his generation and gave him Isaac.

Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River. I led him through all the land of Canaan. I gave him many children, and I gave him Isaac.

4 A nd to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.

To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Seir to Esau for his own. But Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them; and afterward I brought you out.

I sent Moses and Aaron. I had to bring trouble upon Egypt by what I did among them. Then I brought you out.

6 A nd I brought your fathers out of Egypt; and when ye came to the sea, the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.

I brought your fathers out of Egypt to the Sea. Egypt went after your fathers to the Red Sea with war-wagons and horsemen.

7 A nd when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.

But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea upon them and covered them. Your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the desert for a long time.

8 A nd I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you, but I delivered them into your hands that ye might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.

I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them to you. You took their land for your own when I destroyed them in front of you.

9 T hen Balak, the son of Zippor, king of the Moabites, arose and warred against Israel and sent and called Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you.

’Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, came and fought against Israel. He sent for Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

10 B ut I would not hearken unto Balaam; to the contrary, he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you out of his hand.

But I would not listen to Balaam. So he had to pray for good to come to you. And I saved you from his hand.

11 A nd ye passed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the lords of Jericho fought against you: the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hands.

’You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you. And the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite fought against you. So I gave them into your hand.

12 A nd I sent hornets before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

I sent the hornets ahead of you. They drove out the people and the two kings of the Amorites from in front of you. You did not do it by your sword or bow.

13 A nd I have given you a land for which ye did not labour and cities which ye did not build, and ye dwell in them and eat of vineyards and oliveyards which ye did not plant.

I gave you a land you did not work for. You live in cities you did not build. You are eating from vines and olive trees you did not plant.’

14 N ow therefore fear the LORD and serve him in perfection and in truth and put away from among you the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve ye the LORD.

“So fear the Lord. Serve Him in faith and truth. Put away the gods your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.

15 ¶ And if it seems evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye 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 ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

If you think it is wrong to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods your fathers worshiped on the other side of the river, or choose the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

16 T hen the people answered and said, May it never happen that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods.

The people answered, “May it never be that we turn away from the Lord and serve other gods.

17 F or the LORD our God, he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery and who did those great signs in our sight and has kept us in all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed.

For the Lord our God is the One Who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house where we were made to work. He did these powerful works in front of our eyes. He kept us safe everywhere we went, among all the nations we passed through.

18 A nd the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land; therefore, will we also serve the LORD, for he is our God.

The Lord drove away from in front of us all the nations, even the Amorites who lived in the land. So we will serve the Lord. For He is our God.”

19 T hen Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not allow your rebellions nor your sins.

Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord. For He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your wrong-doing or your sins.

20 I f ye forsake the LORD and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt and consume you, after he has done you good.

If you turn away from the Lord and serve strange gods, He will turn and punish you. He will destroy you after He has been good to you.”

21 A nd the people said unto Joshua, No, but we will serve the LORD.

The people said to Joshua, “Not so, for we will serve the Lord.”

22 A nd Joshua said unto the people, Ye shall be witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We shall be witnesses.

Then Joshua said to the people, “You have spoken for yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” And they said, “We have spoken for ourselves.”

23 N ow, therefore, take away, the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.

Joshua said, “So put away the strange gods that are among you. Give your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 A nd the people replied unto Joshua, We will serve the LORD our God and hear his voice.

The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey His voice.”

25 S o Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and set them statutes and laws in Shechem.

So Joshua made an agreement with the people that day. And he made Laws for them in Shechem.

26 A nd Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and taking a great stone, he set it up there under an oak that was in the sanctuary of the LORD.

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 tree that was by the holy place of the Lord.

27 A nd Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke unto us: it shall be, therefore, a witness unto you lest ye deny your God.

Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone will be here to speak against us. For it has heard all the words the Lord spoke to us. So it will be here to speak against you, if you do not stay true to your God.”

28 S o Joshua sent the people, each one unto his inheritance.

Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own land. The Death of Joshua and Eleazar

29 ¶ And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the slave of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

After this, Joshua the son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died. He was 110 years old.

30 A nd they buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the Mountain of Gaash.

They buried him in the land he was given in Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31 A nd Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua and who had known all the works of the LORD that he had done with Israel.

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and of the leaders who lived after him who had known all the works the Lord had done for Israel.

32 A nd the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the part of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred ewes, and it became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph.

The people of Israel brought the bones of Joseph from Egypt. They buried them in Shechem, in the piece of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of money. It became the land of Joseph’s children.

33 A nd Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died, and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas, his son, which was given to him in the mountain of Ephraim.

Eleazar the son of Aaron died also. They buried him on the hill at Gibeah that was given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.