Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel resth from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,i 2 summoned all Israel—their elders,j leaders, judges and officialsk—and said to them: “I am very old.l 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.m 4 Remember how I have allottedn as an inheritanceo for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Seap in the west. 5 The Lord your God himself will push them outq for your sake. He will drive them outr before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.s

6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Lawt of Moses, without turning asideu to the right or to the left.v 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swearw by them. You must not serve them or bow downx to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the Lordy your God, as you have until now.