Joshua 24
The full text of Joshua 24 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,
4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.
5 "Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.
6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea.
7 But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8 "I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.
9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you.
10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 "Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands.
12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.
13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'
14 "Now therefore, fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, 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, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake 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, and performed those great signs 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 before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God."
19 Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, 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 against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes, we are witnesses," they replied.
23 "Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24 And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and obey him."
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them a statute and an ordinance.
26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.
27 "See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a witness 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 to your God."
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.
29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.
30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.
32 And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
Translation notes (16)
- Joshua 24:1a Shechem was a significant place where the patriarchs built altars and where the covenant ceremony of chapter 8 took place (compare Genesis 12:6-7; 33:18-20). Gathering "before God" indicates that this was a formal assembly to make a covenant, with the LORD himself as the other participant.
- Joshua 24:2a The retelling of the covenant begins with a surprising admission: Israel's own ancestors were idol-worshipers. This means everything that follows is due to the LORD's free grace, not because Israel earned it. "Beyond the River" refers to Mesopotamia, specifically the cities of Ur and Harran (compare Genesis 11:31).
- Joshua 24:7a The speech moves between referring to "the LORD" and using the first person ("what I did") because Joshua is speaking as the LORD's representative in this retelling of the covenant. The deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14) is the foundational act of redemption that this passage recalls.
- Joshua 24:12a The term "the hornet" (compare Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20) is understood in various ways: as literal insects, as a symbol for terror or panic, or as a reference to the LORD's unseen actions. The verse makes it clear that the victory was not won by Israel's "sword and bow" but by God.
- Joshua 24:13a The retelling of the covenant concludes as it began: emphasizing that everything was a pure gift. The land, cities, vineyards, and olive groves were all unearned by Israel (compare Deuteronomy 6:10-11). This undeserved favor is the basis for the demand for loyalty that immediately follows.
- Joshua 24:14a Here, "fear" means reverent worship and loyal allegiance to God, not dread. The demand, which is based entirely on the grace just described, is for exclusive worship: Israel must discard every other god (compare Genesis 35:2-4, where Jacob's household buried foreign gods at this same Shechem).
- Joshua 24:15a This moment is the rhetorical and theological high point of the book. Joshua does not force loyalty; instead, he demands a deliberate, public choice, and he commits his own household to it. The statement, "As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD," has become one of the most quoted declarations of covenant in the Bible.
- Joshua 24:19a Joshua's strong warning is not a denial that people can serve God, but rather a deliberate way to make them seriously consider a casual commitment. Loyalty to a holy, jealous God through a covenant is not a trivial matter, and turning away from God without repentance will not simply be ignored (compare Exodus 20:5; 34:14). This urges the people to consider the cost before they make their vow.
- Joshua 24:20a This warning aligns with Deuteronomy 28 and Joshua's farewell speech (Joshua 23:15-16). It emphasizes that the God who has "been good" is the same God whose covenant cannot be broken without serious consequences. The purpose is not to cause despair, but to highlight the seriousness of their commitment.
- Joshua 24:22a The people are made legal witnesses against themselves, meaning their choice to enter the covenant is now a binding testimony, not merely a feeling. This theme of witness also appears throughout chapters 22 and 24, seen in the altar and the stone mentioned in verse 27.
- Joshua 24:26a Joshua's words are added to "the Book of the Law of God," showing that his ministry continues the written law given by Moses. The standing stone under the oak at Shechem becomes a silent witness (verse 27), similar to the memorial stones in chapter 4.
- Joshua 24:27a The stone is described poetically as having "heard" the covenant words. This is a vivid way to show that the agreement is permanently verifiable, even after the present generation's memory fades. This same idea of a witness recurs throughout the book (Joshua 4:21-24; 22:27-28, 34).
- Joshua 24:29a The title "the servant of the LORD," which was given to Moses throughout the book, is now given to Joshua, but only at his death. This shows that Joshua completed his work as faithfully as Moses. The age of 110 was considered an ideal for a blessed, complete life in Egypt (this was also Joseph's age in Genesis 50:26).
- Joshua 24:31a This verse subtly foreshadows the book of Judges, suggesting that faithfulness will only last as long as the generation that personally witnessed the LORD's actions (compare Judges 2:7-10). The covenant just made will be put to the test in the generations that follow.
- Joshua 24:32a Joseph's dying request (Genesis 50:25; Exodus 13:19) is finally fulfilled here, many generations later. This serves as a quiet confirmation of the book's theme that the LORD keeps every promise. The piece of land Jacob bought at Shechem (Genesis 33:19) becomes Joseph's burial place in the inherited land.
- Joshua 24:33a The book closes with three burials—Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar—the founding leaders laid to rest in the land of promise. The narrative now stands ready for the next generation and the next book.
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