Joshua 24:14–28

¹⁴“Now, therefore, revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord.^{* 15}Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, 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 ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along 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 cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.^{* 20}If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”^{* 21}And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” ²²Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”^{* 24}The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.”^{* 25}So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.^{* 26}Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you if you deal falsely with your God.”^{* 28}So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances.