Joshua 23-24

Lexham English Bible

Joshua’s Farewell Address

23 And it happened, after a long time,^[a] after Yahweh had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and after Joshua was old and well-advanced in years,^{[b] 2} Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, heads, judges, and officials, and he said to them, “I am old and well-advanced in years,^{[c] 3} and you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations for your sake,^[d] for Yahweh your God is fighting for you. ⁴ Look! I have allotted to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, to the Great Sea^[e] in the west.^{[f] 5} And Yahweh your God will push them back before you^[g] and drive them out of your sight,^[h] and you will possess their land, just as Yahweh your God promised to you. ⁶ Be very strong to observe carefully all that is written in the scroll of the law of Moses so as not to turn aside from it, to the right or left, ⁷ so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; do not profess^[i] the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or bow down to them.^{[j] 8} But hold fast to Yahweh your God, just as you have done up to this day. ⁹ Yahweh has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, nobody has withstood^[k] you to this day. ¹⁰ One of your men put to flight a thousand, for Yahweh your God is fighting for you, just as he promised you. ¹¹ Take utmost care for the sake of your life to love Yahweh your God, ¹² for if indeed you turn back and join these remaining nations among you,^[l] and you intermarry with them, marrying their women and they yours,^{[m] 13} know for certain that Yahweh your God will not continue to drive out^[n] these nations from before you; they will be for you a snare and a trap, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

¹⁴ Look! I am about to die,^[o] and you know in all your hearts^[p] and souls^[q] that not one thing failed^[r] from all the good things that Yahweh your God promised concerning you; everything has been fulfilled;^[s] not one thing failed.^{[t] 15} But just as all the good things^[u] came to you that Yahweh your God promised, so will Yahweh bring to you all the bad things^[v] until he has destroyed you from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you. ¹⁶ If you transgress the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded to you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, Yahweh’s anger will be kindled^[w] against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.”

Joshua Recounts Their History

24 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officials, and they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Long ago^[x] your ancestors^[y]—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,^[z] and they served other gods. ³ I took your ancestor^[aa] Abraham from beyond the river^[ab] and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I increased his offspring; I gave him Isaac, ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵ And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought out your ancestors^[ac] from Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your ancestors^[ad] with chariots^[ae] and horsemen to the Red Sea.^{[af] 7} They cried out to Yahweh, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them^[ag] and covered them; your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for many days. ⁸ And I brought you to the land of the Amorites^[ah] who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought you, and I gave them into your hand; you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.^{[ai] 9} Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰ but I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he richly blessed you. So I rescued you from his hand, ¹¹ and you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the citizens of Jericho, the Amorites,^[aj] the Perizzites,^[ak] the Canaanites,^[al] the Hittites,^[am] the Girgashites,^[an] the Hivites,^[ao] and the Jebusites,^[ap] fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. ¹² I sent before you the hornet and they drove out before you two kings of the Amorites;^[aq] but not by your sword or bow. ¹³ I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live^[ar] in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.’

The Israelites Promise to Serve Yahweh

¹⁴ “So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors^[as] served beyond the river^[at] and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. ¹⁵ But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors^[au] served beyond the river,^[av] or the gods of the Amorites^[aw] in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh.” ¹⁶ And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors^[ax] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. ¹⁸ And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites^[ay] who live^[az] in the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you.” ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve Yahweh.” ²² And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice.” ²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant^[ba] with the people on that day, and he established for them a statute and a judgment at Shechem. ²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” ²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away to their inheritance.

²⁹ After these things Joshua son of Nun servant of Yahweh died; he was one hundred and ten years old.^{[bb] 30} They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, at Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ³¹ Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived long after Joshua, and who had known all the work that Yahweh did for Israel.^{[bc] 32} The bones of Jacob, which the Israelites^[bd] had brought out from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a piece of land that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money;^[be] it became an inheritance for the descendants^[bf] of Joseph. ³³ And Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, which had been given to his son Phinehas.