Joshua 24

DOUAI-RHEIMS	NEW JERUSALEM
1 And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes, and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:	1 Joshua gathered al the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; he then summoned al the elders ofIsrael, its leaders, judges and officials, and they presented themselves in God's presence.
2 And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served strange gods.	2 Joshua then said to al the people: 'Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this, "From time immemorial, yourancestors, Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River, and served other gods.
3 And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia: and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and I multiplied his seed,	3 I then brought your ancestor Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the length andbreadth of Canaan. I increased his descendants and I gave him Isaac.
4 And gave him Isaac: and to him again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.	4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave possession of the mountainous country of Seir.Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.
5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and wonders.	5 I then sent Moses and Aaron, and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there; final y I broughtyou out.
6 And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea: and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.	6 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestorswith chariots and horsemen, to the Sea of Reeds.
7 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time:	7 They then called to Yahweh, and he spread a thick fog between you and the Egyptians, and made thesea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes what I did in Egypt. Then, for a long while,you lived in the desert.
8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorrhite, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and slew them.	8 I then brought you into the country of the Amorites, who used to live on the further side of the Jordan;they made war on you and I put them at your mercy; after which, you took possession of their country, since Idestroyed them before you.
9 And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam son of Beor, to curse you:	9 Next, Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose to make war on Israel, and sent for Balaam son of Beorto come and curse you.
10 And I would not hear him, but on the contrary I blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand.	10 But I would not listen to Balaam; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his power.
11 And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you, the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Gergesite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands.	11 "You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, but the inhabitants of Jericho made war on you:Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I put them al at your mercy.
12 And I sent before you hornets: and I drove them out from their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy sword nor with thy bow.	12 I sent hornets ahead of you, which drove out the two Amorite kings before you; this was not the workof your sword or of your bow.
13 And I gave you a land, in which you had not laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not, vineyards and oliveyards, which you planted not.	13 And now I have given you a country for which you have not toiled, towns you have not built, althoughyou live in them, vineyards and olive groves you have not planted, although you eat their fruit."
14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.	14 'So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the gods whom your ancestorsserved beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.
15 But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.	15 But if serving Yahweh seems a bad thing to you, today you must make up your minds whom you domean to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites inwhose country you are now living. As regards my family and me, we shal serve Yahweh.'
16 And the people answered, and said: God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.	16 The people replied, 'Far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve other gods!
17 The Lord our God he brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: and did very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.	17 Yahweh our God was the one who brought us and our ancestors here from Egypt, from the place ofslave-labour, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and who kept us safe all along the way wetravel ed and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
18 And he hath cast out all the nations, the Amorrhite the inhabitant of the land into which we are come. Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.	18 And Yahweh has driven all the nations out for us, including the Amorites who used to live in thecountry. We too shal serve Yahweh, for he is our God.'
19 And Josue said to the people: You will not be able to serve the Lord: for he is a holy God, and mighty and jealous, and will not forgive your wickedness and sins.	19 Joshua then said to the people, 'You will not be able to serve Yahweh, since he is a holy God, he is ajealous God who wil not tolerate either your misdeeds or your sins.
20 If you leave the Lord, and serve strange gods, he will turn, and will afflict you, and will destroy you after all the good he hath done you.	20 If you desert Yahweh and serve the foreigners' gods, he will turn and maltreat you anew and, in spiteof having been good to you in the past, wil destroy you.'
21 And the people said to Josue: No, it shall not be so as thou sayest, but we will serve the Lord.	21 The people replied to Joshua, 'No! Yahweh is the one we mean to serve.'
22 And Josue said to the people: You are witnesses, that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they answered: We are witnesses.	22 Joshua then said to the people, 'You are witnesses to yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh, toserve him.' They replied, 'Witnesses we are!'
23 Now therefore, said he, put away strange gods from among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel.	23 'Then banish the foreign gods which you have with you and give your al egiance to Yahweh, God ofIsrael!'
24 And the people said to Josue: We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his commandments.	24 The people replied to Joshua, 'Yahweh our God is the one whom we shall serve; his voice we shalobey!'
25 Josue therefore on that day made a covenant, and set before the people commandments and judgments in Sichem.	25 That day Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and ordinance for them atShechem.
26 And he wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord: and he took a great stone, and set it under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.	26 Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. He then took a large stone and set it upthere, under the oak tree in Yahweh's sanctuary.
27 And he said to all the people: Behold this stone shall be a testimony unto you, that it hath heard all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken to you: lest perhaps hereafter you will deny it, and lie to the Lord your God.	27 Joshua then said to all the people, 'Look, this stone will be a witness to us, since it has heard al thewords that Yahweh has spoken to us: it wil be a witness against you, in case you should deny your God.'
28 And he sent the people away every one to their own possession.	28 Joshua then dismissed the people, every one to his own heritage.
29 And after these things Josue the son of Null the servant of the Lord died, being a hundred and ten years old:	29 After this, Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died; he was a hundred and ten years old.
30 And they buried him in the border of his possession in Thamnathsare, which is situate in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas.	30 He was buried on the estate which he had received as his heritage, at Timnath-Serah which lies inthe highlands of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 ,31And Israel served the Lord all the days of Josue, and of the ancients that lived a long time after Josue, and that had known all the works of the Lord which he had done in Israel.	31 Israel served Yahweh throughout the lifetime of Joshua and throughout the lifetime of those elderswho outlived Joshua and had known al the deeds which Yahweh had done for the sake of Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had taken out of Egypt, they buried in Sichem, in that part of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hemor the father of Sichem, for a hundred young ewes, and it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.	32 As regards the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought from Egypt, these were buried atShechem in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamorfather of Shechem, and which had become the heritage of the sons of Joseph.
33 Eleazar also the son of Aaron died: and they buried him in Gabaath that belongeth to Phinees his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.	33 Eleazar son of Aaron then died and was buried at Gibeah, the town of his son Phinehas, which hadbeen given to him in the highlands of Ephraim.