Joshua 24 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua said to all the people, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River — including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor — and they served other gods.

But I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants — I gave him Isaac.

To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his own, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with plagues — you know what I did there — and afterward I brought you out.

I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians chased your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

They cried out to Yahweh, 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 Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You took their land, and I destroyed them before you.

Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you.

But I refused to listen to Balaam. Instead, he ended up declaring favor over you again and again. So I rescued you from Balak's hand.

Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you — as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites — but I handed them all over to you.

I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not your sword or your bow that did it.

I gave you a land you did not work for, and cities you did not build. You live in them now. You eat from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.

"So now, honor Yahweh and serve him with complete integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

But if serving Yahweh seems like a bad deal to you, then choose today who you will serve — whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live. As for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh."

The people answered, "We would never abandon Yahweh to serve other gods!

Because Yahweh our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors up out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He is the one who did those incredible signs right in front of us and protected us the whole way we traveled, among all the peoples we passed through.

Yahweh drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve Yahweh, because he is our God."

Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve Yahweh, because he is a God who is set apart — unlike any other. He is an intensely committed God. He will not put up with your rebellion or your failures against him.

If you abandon Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after having been so good to you."

But the people said to Joshua, "No! We will serve Yahweh."

Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh for yourselves — to serve him." They said, "We are witnesses."

"Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you right now, and turn your hearts toward Yahweh, the God of Israel."

The people said to Joshua, "Yahweh our God — we will serve him, and we will listen to his voice."

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and established binding terms and laws for them at Shechem.

Joshua wrote all these words in the Scroll of God's Instruction. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree that was near Yahweh's sacred place.

Joshua said to all the people, "Look — this stone will be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words that Yahweh spoke to us. It will be a witness against you so that you do not deny your God."

Then Joshua sent the people away, each to their own inheritance.

After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died. He was a hundred and ten years old.

They buried him in the territory of his inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

Israel served Yahweh throughout Joshua's lifetime and throughout the lifetime of the elders who outlived Joshua — who had experienced everything Yahweh had done for Israel.

As for Joseph's bones, which the people of Israel had brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver. It became part of the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.

And Eleazar son of Aaron also died. They buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.