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Joshua 24:14-28
New King James Version
Joshua 24:14-28
New King James Version
14 (A)“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in (B)sincerity and in truth, and (C)put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of [a]the River and (D)in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, (E)choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether (F)the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [b]the River, or (G)the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. (H)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. (I)We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, (J)“You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a (K)holy God. He is (L)a jealous God; (M)He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 (N)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, (O)then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”
21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”
22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (P)you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.”
And they said, “We are witnesses!”
23 “Now therefore,” he said, (Q)“put away the foreign gods which are among you, and (R)incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”
24 And the people (S)said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
25 So Joshua (T)made[c] a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance (U)in Shechem.
26 Then Joshua (V)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took (W)a large stone, and (X)set it up there (Y)under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be (Z)a witness to us, for (AA)it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” 28 So (AB)Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Joshua 24:14 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:15 The Euphrates
- Joshua 24:25 Lit. cut a covenant
Joshua 24:14-28
New International Version
Joshua 24:14-28
New International Version
14 “Now fear the Lord(A) and serve him with all faithfulness.(B) Throw away the gods(C) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,(D) 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,(E) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,(F) we will serve the Lord.”(G)
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake(H) 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,(I) and performed those great signs(J) 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(K) before us all the nations,(L) including the Amorites, who lived in the land.(M) We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.(N)”
19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;(O) he is a jealous God.(P) He will not forgive(Q) your rebellion(R) and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord(S) and serve foreign gods, he will turn(T) and bring disaster(U) on you and make an end of you,(V) 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(W) against yourselves that you have chosen(X) to serve the Lord.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,(Y)” they replied.
23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods(Z) that are among you and yield your hearts(AA) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”(AB)
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant(AC) for the people, and there at Shechem(AD) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.(AE) 26 And Joshua recorded(AF) these things in the Book of the Law of God.(AG) Then he took a large stone(AH) and set it up there under the oak(AI) near the holy place of the Lord.
27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone(AJ) will be a witness(AK) 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(AL) to your God.”(AM)
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.(AN)
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.