Joshua 23:1–24:33

Joshua’s Farewell Address

23A long time after the Lord had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, ^gJoshua was old, getting on in years. ^h2So Joshua summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers, ⁱand said to them, “I am old, getting on in years, ³and you have seen for yourselves everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your account, because it was the Lord your God who was fighting for you. ^j4See, I have allotted these remaining nations to you as an inheritance for your tribes, ^kincluding all the nations I have destroyed, from the Jordan westward to the Mediterranean Sea. ⁵The Lord your God will force them back on your account and drive them out before you so that you can take possession of their land, ^las the Lord your God promised you.

⁶“Be very strong ^mand continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left ⁷and so that you do not associate with these nations remaining among you. Do not call on the names of their gods or make an oath to them; ⁿdo not worship them or bow down to them. ⁸Instead, remain faithful to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. ^o

⁹“The Lord has driven out great and powerful nations before you, ^pand no one is able to stand against you to this day. ^q10One of you routed a thousand ^rbecause the Lord your God was fighting for you, as He promised. ^st11So be very diligent to love the Lord your God for your own well-being. ¹²For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations remaining among you, ^uand if you intermarry or associate with them ^vand they with you, ¹³know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, ^wa scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴“I am now going the way of all the earth, ^xyand you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises the Lord your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed. ^z15Since every good thing the Lord your God promised you has come about, so He will bring on you every bad thing until He has annihilated you from this good land the Lord your God has given you. ^a16If you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and worship other gods, and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land He has given you.”

Review of Israel’s History

24Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem ^band summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God. ^c2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, ^dthe father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. ³But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants. ^eI gave him Isaac, ^f4and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. ^gI gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession, ^hbut Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. ⁱ

⁵“ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron; ^jI plagued Egypt by what I did there and afterward I brought you out. ⁶When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea, ^kthe Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. ⁷Your fathers cried out to the Lord, so He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.

⁸“ ‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. ^lThey fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you. ⁹Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, ^mset out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.

¹¹“ ‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. ⁿThe people of Jericho—as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—fought against you, but I handed them over to you. ¹²I sent the hornet ^opahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings ^qbefore you. It was not by your sword or bow. ¹³I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, ^rthough you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

The Covenant Renewal

¹⁴“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. ^sGet rid of the gods your fathers worshiped ^tbeyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh. ¹⁵But if it doesn’t please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. ^uAs for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.”

¹⁶The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! ¹⁷For the Lord our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, ^vand performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. ¹⁸The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because He is our God.”

¹⁹But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship Yahweh, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; ^wHe will not remove your transgressions and sins. ^x20If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, He will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy ^yyou, after He has been good to you.”

²¹“No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”

²²Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship Yahweh.”

“We are witnesses,” they said.

²³“Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

²⁴So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey Him.”

²⁵On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. ²⁶Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God; ^zhe also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us, ^afor it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.” ²⁸Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

Burial of Three Leaders

²⁹After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. ³⁰They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim ^bnorth of Mount Gaash. ³¹Israel worshiped Yahweh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua ^cand who had experienced all the works Yahweh had done for Israel.

³²Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, ^dwere buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 qesitahs. ^efIt was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.

³³And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, ^gwhich had been given to his son Phinehas ^hin the hill country of Ephraim.