Joshua 24:14–27

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14g“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^hPut away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ⁱAnd if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^jchoose this day whom you will serve, whether ^hthe gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^kthe gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^lBut as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is ^ma holy God. He is ⁿa jealous God; ^ohe will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20pIf you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^qhe will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” ²²Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^ryou have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³He said, “Then ^sput away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵So Joshua ^tmade a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^ustatutes and rules for them at Shechem. ²⁶And Joshua ^vwrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^whe took a large stone and set it up there ^xunder the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^ythis stone shall be a witness against us, for ^zit has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.”