Joshua 24

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God,	1 And Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and he called those greater by birth, and the leaders and judges and teachers. And they stood in the sight of the Lord.
2 Joshua addressed all the people: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods.	2 And he spoke to the people in this way: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Your fathers lived, in the beginning, across the river: Terah, the father of Abraham, and Nahor. And they served strange gods.
3 But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous, and gave him Isaac.	3 Then I brought your father Abraham from the parts of Mesopotamia, and I led him into the land of Canaan. And I multiplied his offspring,
4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.	4 and I gave to him Isaac. And to him, I gave again Jacob and Esau. And I gave mount Seir to Esau as a possession. Yet truly, Jacob and his sons descended into Egypt.
5 "Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt with the prodigies which I wrought in her midst.	5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and portents.
6 Afterward I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea with chariots and horsemen.	6 And I led you and your fathers away from Egypt, and you arrived at the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.
7 Because they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians, upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them. After you witnessed what I did to Egypt, and dwelt a long time in the desert,	7 Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. And he stationed a darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he led the sea over them, and he covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them (the two kings of the Amorites) before you.	8 And I led you into the land of the Amorite, who was living beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and you put them to death.
9 Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared to war against Israel. He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you;	9 Then Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam, the son of Beor, so that he might curse you.
10 but I would not listen to Balaam. On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him.	10 And I was not willing to listen to him, but on the contrary, I blessed you through him, and I freed you from his hand.
11 Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, but I delivered them also into your power.	11 And you crossed over the Jordan, and you arrived at Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you: the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. And I delivered them into your hands.
12 And I sent the hornets ahead of you which drove them (the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites) out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.	12 And I sent wasps before you. And I drove them from their places, the two kings of the Amorites, but not by your sword, and not by your bow.
13 "I gave you a land which you had not tilled and cities which you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.	13 And I gave you a land, in which you did not labor, and cities, which you did not build, so that you might live in them, and vineyards and olive groves, which you did not plant.’
14 "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.	14 Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and very sincere heart. And take away the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15 If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."	15 But if it seems evil to you that you would serve the Lord, a choice is given to you. Choose today what pleases you, and whom you ought to serve above all else, either the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods.	16 And the people responded, and they said: “Far be it from us that we would forsake the Lord, and serve foreign gods.
17 For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among all the peoples through whom we passed.	17 The Lord our God himself led us and our fathers away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. And he accomplished immense signs in our sight, and he preserved us along the entire way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.
18 At our approach the LORD drove out (all the peoples, including) the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."	18 And he cast out all the nations, the Amorite, the inhabitant of the land that we entered. And so, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 Joshua in turn said to the people, "You may not be able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.	19 And Joshua said to the people: “You will not be able to serve the Lord. For he is a holy and powerful God, and he is jealous, and he will not ignore your wickedness and sins.
20 If, after the good he has done for you, you forsake the LORD and serve strange gods, he will do evil to you and destroy you."	20 If you leave behind the Lord, and you serve foreign gods, he will turn himself, and he will afflict you, and he will overthrow you, after all the good that he has offered to you.”
21 But the people answered Joshua, "We will still serve the LORD."	21 And the people said to Joshua, “By no means will it be as you are saying, but we will serve the Lord.”
22 Joshua therefore said to the people, "You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the LORD." They replied, "We are, indeed!"	22 And Joshua said to the people, “You yourselves are witnesses, that you have chosen the Lord so that you may serve him.” And they answered, “We are witnesses.”
23 "Now, therefore, put away the strange gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."	23 “Now therefore,” he said, “take away strange gods from among yourselves, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 Then the people promised Joshua, "We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice."	24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his precepts.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem,	25 Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments.
26 which he recorded in the book of the law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the LORD.	26 He also wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord. And he took a very great stone, and he stationed it under the oak that was in the Sanctuary of the Lord.
27 And Joshua said to all the people, "This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the LORD spoke to us. It shall be a witness against you, should you wish to deny your God."	27 And he said to all the people, “Lo, this stone shall be to you as a testimony, which has heard all the words of the Lord that he has spoken to you, lest perhaps, afterward, you might choose to deny it, and to lie to the Lord your God.”
28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his own heritage.	28 And he dismissed the people, each one to their own possession.
29 After these events, Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.	29 And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
30 He was buried within the limits of his heritage at Timnath-serah in the mountain region of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.	30 And they buried him within the borders of his possession at Timnath-Serah, which is situated on mount Ephraim, before the northern side of mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD during the entire lifetime of Joshua and that of the elders who outlived Joshua and knew all that the LORD had done for Israel.	31 And Israel served the Lord during all the days of Joshua, and of the elders who lived for a long time after Joshua, and who had known all the works of the Lord that he had accomplished in Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried in Shechem in the plot of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of money. This was a heritage of the descendants of Joseph.	32 And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel had brought from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a portion of the field that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred young female sheep, and so it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.
33 When Eleazar, son of Aaron, also died, he was buried on the hill which had been given to his son Phinehas in the mountain region of Ephraim.	33 Likewise, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died. And they buried him at Gibeah, which belongs to Phinehas, his son, and which was given to him on mount Ephraim.