The Covenant Renewal at Shechem
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Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel 1to Shechem and 2summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And 3they presented themselves before God.
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And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Long ago, 4your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and 5they served other gods.
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6Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and 7led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. 8I gave him Isaac.
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And to Isaac I gave 9Jacob and Esau. 10And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, 11but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
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12And I sent Moses and Aaron, 13and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and 14afterward I brought you out.
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"'Then 15I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and 16you came to the sea. 17And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
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18And when they cried to the LORD, 19he put darkness between you and the Egyptians 20and made the sea come upon them and cover them; 21and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. 22And you lived in the wilderness a long time.
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Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. 23They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.
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24Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. 25And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you,
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26but I would not listen to Balaam. 27Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand.
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28And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, 29and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also 30the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand.
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And I sent 31the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was 32not by your sword or by your bow.
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I gave you a land on which you had not labored 33and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.'
Choose Whom You Will Serve
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34"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. 35Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
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36And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, 37choose this day whom you will serve, whether 38the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or 39the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. 40But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
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Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods,
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for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
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And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
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But Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD, for he is 41a holy God. He is 42a jealous God; 43he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
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44If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then 45he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good."
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And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD."
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Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that 46you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
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He said, "Then 47put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel."
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And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey."
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So Joshua 48made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place 49statutes and rules for them at Shechem.
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And Joshua 50wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And 51he took a large stone and set it up there 52under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
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And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, 53this stone shall be a witness against us, for 54it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God."
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So Joshua 55sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
Joshua's Death and Burial
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56After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 110 years old.
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And they buried him in his own inheritance at 57Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.
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58Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua 59and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)