2 Timothy 4

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
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.	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 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.	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 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.	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 gave possession of the mountainous country of Seir.Jacob and his sons went down into 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 I then sent Moses and Aaron, and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there; final y I broughtyou out.	5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and portents.
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.	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 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.	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 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.	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 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.	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; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his power.	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 "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.	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 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.	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 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."	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 '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.	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 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.'	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 The people replied, 'Far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve 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 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.	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 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.'	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 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.	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 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.'	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 The people replied to Joshua, 'No! Yahweh is the one we mean to serve.'	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 then said to the people, 'You are witnesses to yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh, toserve him.' They replied, 'Witnesses we are!'	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 'Then banish the foreign gods which you have with you and give your al egiance to Yahweh, God ofIsrael!'	23 “Now therefore,” he said, “take away strange gods from among yourselves, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people replied to Joshua, 'Yahweh our God is the one whom we shall serve; his voice we shalobey!'	24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his precepts.”
25 That day Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and ordinance for them atShechem.	25 Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments.
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.	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 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.'	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 Joshua then dismissed the people, every one to his own heritage.	28 And he dismissed the people, each one to their own possession.
29 After this, Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died; he was a hundred and ten years old.	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 on the estate which he had received as his heritage, at Timnath-Serah which lies inthe highlands 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 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.	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 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.	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 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.	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.