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Whom Will You Worship?
24 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned Israel’s elders, heads, judges and officials. So they presented themselves before God. 2 Then Joshua said to all the people: “Thus says Adonai, God of Israel: ‘From ancient times your fathers—Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the River and worshipped other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, 4 then to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it as his own, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 “So I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst, and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt. When you came to the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Sea of Reeds with chariots and horsemen. 7 But when they cried out to Adonai, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, then He brought the sea upon them, and it covered them; and your eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. Then you stayed in the wilderness for a long time.
8 “Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who were living beyond the Jordan. Though they fought against you, I gave them into your hand, and you possessed their land when I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose and fought against Israel. He even sent and called for Balaam son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I refused to listen to Balaam; instead, he had to keep blessing you. Thus I delivered you from his hand.
11 “Then you crossed over the Jordan and came to Jericho, but the men of Jericho fought against you—the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—but I delivered them into your hand. 12 Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove them out from before you—the two kings of the Amorites—not by your sword or your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities that you had not built and you have settled in them, vineyards and olive groves that you had not planted, that you are eating.
14 “Now therefore, fear Adonai and worship Him in sincerity and in truth. Get rid of the gods that your fathers had worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and worship Adonai. 15 If it seems bad to you to worship Adonai, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers worshipped that were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will worship Adonai!”
16 Then the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake Adonai to worship other gods! 17 For it was Adonai our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us all along the way that we travelled and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 It was Adonai who drove out from before us all the peoples, the Amorites that lived in the land. Therefore we also will worship Adonai, for He is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to worship Adonai, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not pardon your transgression and your sins. 20 If you forsake Adonai and worship foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done good to you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! For we will worship Adonai.”
22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses to yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves Adonai, to worship Him.”
“We are witnesses,” they responded.
23 “Now therefore, get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Adonai, God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will worship none but Adonai our God, and we will obey none but His voice.”
25 So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day, and set for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the scroll of the Torah of God. Also he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the Sanctuary of Adonai. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone will be a witness to us. For it has heard all the words of Adonai which He has spoken to us. So it will be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”
28 Joshua then dismissed the people, each to his own inheritance.
29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died at the age of 110 years. 30 So they buried him in the territory of his own portion in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel worshipped Adonai all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work of Adonai that He had done for Israel.
32 Joseph’s bones, which Bnei-Yisrael had brought up from Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of silver.[a] It became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
33 Then Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah, which had been given to Phinehas his son, in the hill country of Ephraim.
Teaching in the Temple
21 Then Yeshua looked up and saw the rich dropping their gifts into the treasury box. 2 He also saw a poor widow dropping in two small copper coins. [a] 3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all the rest. 4 For all these put in their gifts from their surplus. But she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on.”
5 And while some were talking about the Temple, how it was decorated with beautiful stones and offerings, Yeshua said, 6 “As for these things you are looking at, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another. Every one will be torn down!”
7 And they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, so when will these things happen? What will be the sign that these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said, “Watch out that you are not led astray! For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He’ and ‘The time is near!’ Do not follow them. 9 And when you hear of wars and chaos, do not be terrorized. For these things need to happen first, but the end will not come at once.”
10 Then He continued telling them, “Nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes along with famines and epidemics in various places, and there will be terrors along with great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will grab you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons, and leading you away to kings and governors on account of My name. 13 This will lead you to be a witness. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare ahead of time to defend yourselves— 15 for I Myself will give you speech and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet not a hair of your head will be lost. 19 By your endurance, you will gain your souls.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must get out, and those in the countryside must not enter her. 22 For these are the days of punishment, to fulfill all that has been written.[b]
23 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath on this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.[c]
25 “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars. And upon the earth nations will be confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. [d] 26 People will lose heart from fear and anticipation of what is overtaking the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [e] 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [f] 28 Now when these things begin to happen, stand straight and lift up your heads, because your salvation is near!”
38 and as the moon, established forever,
and a trustworthy witness in the sky.” Selah
39 But You have cast off and spurned,
You have become furious with Your anointed one.
40 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant.
You have defiled his crown even to the ground.
41 You have broken down all his walls.
You reduced his strongholds to ruin.
42 All who pass by have plundered him.
He has become a taunt to his neighbors.
43 You exalted the right hand of his foes
and made all his enemies rejoice.
44 You turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.
45 You brought his splendor to an end,
and cast his throne down to the ground.
46 You cut short the days of his youth.
You covered him with shame. Selah
47 How long, Adonai, will You hide Yourself?
Forever?
Will Your fury keep burning like fire?
48 Remember how short my life span is!
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
49 What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver himself from the clutches of Sheol? Selah
50 Where is Your former lovingkindness, my Lord,
which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?[a]
51 Remember, my Lord, the mockery against Your servants
that I bear in my heart from so many peoples.
52 How Your enemies have mocked, Adonai,
how they have mocked
the footsteps of Your Anointed One![b]
20 He who walks with wise men is wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm.
21 Misfortune pursues sinners,
but prosperity rewards the righteous.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
23 The fallow field of the poor yields much food,
but it is swept away by injustice.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.