1And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem , and called for the elders of Israel , and for their heads , and for their judges , and for their officers ; and they presented themselves before God. 2And Joshua said unto all the people , Thus saith Jehovah , the God of Israel , Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River , even Terah , the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor : and they served other gods. 3And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River , and led him throughout all the land of Canaan , and multiplied his seed , and gave him Isaac . 4And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau : and I gave unto Esau mount Seir , to possess it ; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt . 5And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt , according to that which I did in the midst thereof : and afterward I brought you out . 6And I brought your fathers out of Egypt : and ye came unto the sea ; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea . 7And when they cried out unto Jehovah , he put darkness between you and the Egyptians , and brought the sea upon them , and covered them ; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt : and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days . 8And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan : and they fought with you ; and I gave them into your hand , and ye possessed their land ; and I destroyed them from before you . 9Then Balak the son of Zippor , king of Moab , arose and fought against Israel : and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you ; 10but I would not hearken unto Balaam ; therefore he blessed you still : so I delivered you out of his hand . 11And ye went over the Jordan , and came unto Jericho : and the men of Jericho fought against you , the Amorite, and the Perizzite , and the Canaanite , and the Hittite , and the Girgashite , the Hivite , and the Jebusite ; and I delivered them into your hand . 12And I sent the hornet before you , which drove them out from before you , even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword , nor with thy bow . 13And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not labored , and cities which ye built not , and ye dwell therein ; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
The People's Response and Commitment
14Now therefore fear Jehovah , and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River , and in Egypt ; and serve ye Jehovah . 15And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah , choose you this day whom ye will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River , or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : but as for me and my house , we will serve Jehovah . 16And the people answered and said , Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah , to serve other gods; 17for Jehovah our God , he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt , from the house of bondage , and that did those great signs in our sight , and preserved us in all the way wherein we went , and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed ; 18and Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples , even the Amorites that dwelt in the land : therefore we also will serve Jehovah ; for he is our God . 19And Joshua said unto the people , Ye cannot serve Jehovah ; for he is a holy God ; he is a jealous God ; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins . 20If ye forsake Jehovah , and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil , and consume you , after that he hath done you good . 21And the people said unto Joshua , Nay ; but we will serve Jehovah . 22And Joshua said unto the people , Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah , to serve him . And they said, We are witnesses . 23Now therefore put away , said he , the foreign gods which are among you , and incline your heart unto Jehovah , the God of Israel . 24And the people said unto Joshua , Jehovah our God will we serve , and unto his voice will we hearken .
The Covenant Established and Witnesses
25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day , and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem . 26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God ; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Jehovah . 27And Joshua said unto all the people , Behold , this stone shall be a witness against us ; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us : it shall be therefore a witness against you , lest ye deny your God . 28So Joshua sent the people away , every man unto his inheritance .
The Death of Joshua and the Legacy of Israel
29And it came to pass after these things , that Joshua the son of Nun , the servant of Jehovah , died , being a hundred and ten years old . 30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah , which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash . 31And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua , and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua , and had known all the work of Jehovah , that he had wrought for Israel . 32And the bones of Joseph , which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt , buried they in Shechem , in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money : and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph . 33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died ; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son , which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.