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Joshua 23-24
Contemporary English Version
Joshua 23-24
Contemporary English Version
Joshua's Farewell Speech
23 The Lord let Israel live in peace with its neighbors for a long time, and Joshua lived to a ripe old age. 2 One day he called a meeting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel, including the old men, the judges, and the officials. Then he told them:
I am now very old. 3 You have seen how the Lord your God fought for you and helped you defeat the nations who lived in this land. 4-5 There are still some nations left, but the Lord has promised you their land. So when you attack them, he will make them run away. I have already divided their land among your tribes, as I did with the land of the nations I defeated between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
6 Be sure that you carefully obey everything written in The Book of the Law[a] of Moses and do exactly what it says.
7 Don't have anything to do with the nations that live around you. Don't worship their gods or pray to their idols or make promises in the names of their gods. 8 Be as faithful to the Lord as you have always been.
9 When you attacked powerful nations, the Lord made them run away, and no one has ever been able to stand up to you. 10 (A) Any one of you can defeat a thousand enemy soldiers, because the Lord God fights for you, just as he promised. 11 Be sure to always love the Lord your God. 12-13 Don't ever turn your backs on him by marrying people from the nations that are left in the land. Don't even make friends with them. I tell you that if you are friendly with those nations, the Lord won't chase them away when you attack. Instead, they'll be like a trap for your feet, a whip on your back, and thorns in your eyes. And finally, none of you will be left in this good land that the Lord has given you.
14 I will soon die, as everyone must. But deep in your hearts you know that the Lord has kept every promise he ever made to you. Not one of them has been broken. 15-16 Yes, when the Lord makes a promise, he does what he has promised. But when he makes a threat, he will also do what he has threatened. The Lord is our God. He gave us this wonderful land and made an agreement with us that we would worship only him. But if you worship other gods, it will make the Lord furious. He will start getting rid of you, and soon not one of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.
We Will Worship and Obey the Lord
24 Joshua called the tribes of Israel together for a meeting at Shechem. He asked the leaders, including the old men, the judges, and the officials, to come up and stand near the sacred tent.[b] 2 (B) Then Joshua told everyone to listen to this message from the Lord, the God of Israel:
Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods. This continued until the time of your ancestor Terah and his two sons, Abraham and Nahor. 3 (C) But I brought Abraham across the Euphrates River and led him through the land of Canaan. I blessed him by giving him Isaac, the first in a line of many descendants. 4 (D) Then I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Mount Seir, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went to live in Egypt.
5-6 (E) Later I sent Moses and his brother Aaron to help your people, and I made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, but the Egyptians got in their chariots and on their horses and chased your ancestors, catching up with them at the Red Sea.[c] 7 Your people cried to me for help, so I put a dark cloud between them and the Egyptians. Then I opened up the sea and let your people walk across on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, I commanded the sea to swallow them, and they drowned while you watched.
You lived in the desert for a long time, 8 (F) then I brought you into the land east of the Jordan River. The Amorites were living there, and they fought you. But with my help, you defeated them, wiped them out, and took their land. 9 (G) King Balak decided that his nation Moab would go to war against you, so he asked Balaam[d] to come and put a curse on you. 10 But I wouldn't listen to Balaam, and I rescued you by making him bless you instead of curse you.
11 (H) You crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The rulers of Jericho fought you, and so did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I helped you defeat them all. 12 (I) Your enemies ran from you, but not because you had swords and bows and arrows. I made your enemies panic and run away, as I had done with the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River.
13 (J) You didn't have to work for this land—I gave it to you. Now you live in towns you didn't build, and you eat grapes and olives from vineyards and trees you didn't plant.
14 Then Joshua told the people:
Worship the Lord, obey him, and always be faithful. Get rid of the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. 15 But if you don't want to worship the Lord, then choose here and now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you're living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you'll worship their gods. I won't. My family and I are going to worship and obey the Lord!
16 The people answered:
We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the Lord. 17 The Lord is our God. We were slaves in Egypt as our ancestors had been, but we saw the Lord work miracles to set our people free and to bring us out of Egypt. Even though other nations were all around us, the Lord protected us wherever we went. 18 And when we fought the Amorites and the other nations that lived in this land, the Lord made them run away. Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord, because the Lord is our God.
19 Joshua said:
The Lord is fearsome; he is the one true God, and I don't think you are able to worship and obey him in the ways he demands. You would have to be completely faithful, and if you sin or rebel, he won't let you get away with it. 20 If you turn your backs on the Lord and worship the gods of other nations, the Lord will turn against you. He will make terrible things happen to you and wipe you out, even though he had been good to you before.
21 But the people shouted, “We won't worship any other gods. We will worship and obey only the Lord!”
22 Joshua said, “You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the Lord. Isn't that true?”
“Yes, it's true,” they answered.
23 Joshua said, “But you still have some idols, like those the other nations worship. Get rid of your idols! You must decide once and for all that you really want to obey the Lord God of Israel.”
24 The people said, “The Lord is our God, and we will worship and obey only him.”
25 Joshua helped Israel make an agreement with the Lord that day at Shechem. Joshua made laws for Israel 26 and wrote them down in The Book of the Law of God.[e] Then he set up a large stone under the oak tree at the place of worship in Shechem 27 and told the people, “Look at this stone. It has heard everything that the Lord has said to us. Our God can call this stone as a witness if we ever reject him.”
28 Joshua sent everyone back to their homes.
Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar Are Buried
29 Not long afterwards, the Lord's servant Joshua died at the age of 110. 30 (K) The Israelites buried him in his own land at Timnath-Serah, north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.
31 As long as Joshua lived, Israel worshiped and obeyed the Lord. There were other leaders old enough to remember everything that the Lord had done for Israel. And for as long as these men lived, Israel continued to worship and obey the Lord.
32 (L) When the people of Israel left Egypt, they brought the bones of Joseph along with them. They took the bones to the town of Shechem and buried them in the field that Jacob had bought for 100 pieces of silver[f] from Hamor, the founder of Shechem. The town and the field both[g] became part of the land belonging to the descendants of Joseph.
33 When Eleazar the priest[h] died, he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim on a hill that belonged to his son Phinehas.
Footnotes
- 23.6 Law: See the note at 8.30-32.
- 24.1 near … tent: Or “in front of the sacred chest”; Hebrew “in the presence of God.”
- 24.5,6 Red Sea: See the note at 2.10.
- 24.9 King Balak … Balaam: The Hebrew text has “King Balak the son of Zippor … Balaam the son of Beor.”
- 24.26 Law: See the note at 8.30-32.
- 24.32 pieces of silver: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew word.
- 24.32 town … both: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 24.33 Eleazar the priest: Hebrew “Eleazar the son of Aaron.”
Joshua 23-24
New International Version
Joshua 23-24
New International Version
Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders
23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest(A) from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,(B) 2 summoned all Israel—their elders,(C) leaders, judges and officials(D)—and said to them: “I am very old.(E) 3 You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.(F) 4 Remember how I have allotted(G) as an inheritance(H) for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea(I) in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will push them out(J) for your sake. He will drive them out(K) before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.(L)
6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law(M) of Moses, without turning aside(N) to the right or to the left.(O) 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear(P) by them. You must not serve them or bow down(Q) to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord(R) your God, as you have until now.
9 “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations;(S) to this day no one has been able to withstand you.(T) 10 One of you routs a thousand,(U) because the Lord your God fights for you,(V) just as he promised. 11 So be very careful(W) to love the Lord(X) your God.
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them(Y) and associate with them,(Z) 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out(AA) these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares(AB) and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes,(AC) until you perish from this good land,(AD) which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.(AE) You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise(AF) has been fulfilled; not one has failed.(AG) 15 But just as all the good things(AH) the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things(AI) he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you(AJ) from this good land he has given you.(AK) 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.(AL)”
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
24 Then Joshua assembled(AM) all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.(AN) He summoned(AO) the elders,(AP) leaders, judges and officials of Israel,(AQ) and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor,(AR) lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.(AS) 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan(AT) and gave him many descendants.(AU) I gave him Isaac,(AV) 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.(AW) I assigned the hill country of Seir(AX) to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.(AY)
5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron,(AZ) and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.(BA) 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea,(BB) and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen[a](BC) as far as the Red Sea.[b](BD) 7 But they cried(BE) to the Lord for help, and he put darkness(BF) between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them.(BG) You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.(BH) Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.(BI)
8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites(BJ) who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.(BK) 9 When Balak son of Zippor,(BL) the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor(BM) to put a curse on you.(BN) 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you(BO) again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan(BP) and came to Jericho.(BQ) The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites,(BR) Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,(BS) but I gave them into your hands.(BT) 12 I sent the hornet(BU) ahead of you, which drove them out(BV) before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.(BW) 13 So I gave you a land(BX) on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’(BY)
14 “Now fear the Lord(BZ) and serve him with all faithfulness.(CA) Throw away the gods(CB) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,(CC) and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,(CD) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,(CE) we will serve the Lord.”(CF)
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake(CG) the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,(CH) and performed those great signs(CI) before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out(CJ) before us all the nations,(CK) including the Amorites, who lived in the land.(CL) We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.(CM)”
19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;(CN) he is a jealous God.(CO) He will not forgive(CP) your rebellion(CQ) and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord(CR) and serve foreign gods, he will turn(CS) and bring disaster(CT) on you and make an end of you,(CU) after he has been good to you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses(CV) against yourselves that you have chosen(CW) to serve the Lord.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,(CX)” they replied.
23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods(CY) that are among you and yield your hearts(CZ) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”(DA)
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant(DB) for the people, and there at Shechem(DC) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.(DD) 26 And Joshua recorded(DE) these things in the Book of the Law of God.(DF) Then he took a large stone(DG) and set it up there under the oak(DH) near the holy place of the Lord.
27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone(DI) will be a witness(DJ) against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue(DK) to your God.”(DL)
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.(DM)
Buried in the Promised Land(DN)
29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died(DO) at the age of a hundred and ten.(DP) 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah[c](DQ) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.(DR)
31 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders(DS) who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.
32 And Joseph’s bones,(DT) which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,(DU) were buried at Shechem in the tract of land(DV) that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver[d] from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron(DW) died and was buried at Gibeah,(DX) which had been allotted to his son Phinehas(DY) in the hill country(DZ) of Ephraim.
Footnotes
- Joshua 24:6 Or charioteers
- Joshua 24:6 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Joshua 24:30 Also known as Timnath Heres (see Judges 2:9)
- Joshua 24:32 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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