Joshua 24

All 33 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called for the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers, and they all presented themselves before God.
2. 2Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Long ago, your fathers lived on the other side of the flood—Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor—and they served other gods."
3. 3I took your father Abraham from beyond the river, led him through the entire land of Canaan, gave him many descendants, and gave him Isaac.
4. 4To Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau Mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5. 5I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did among them. Afterward, I brought you out.
6. 6I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen all the way to the Red Sea.
7. 7When your ancestors cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, then brought the sea upon them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did in Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8. 8I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands so you could possess their land, and I destroyed them before you.
9. 9Then Balak, son of Zippor and king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel. He sent for Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you.
10. 10But I refused to listen to Balaam; therefore, he continued to bless you. So I delivered you from his hand.
11. 11You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, along with the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, but I delivered them into your hand.
12. 12I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out, including the two kings of the Amorites. It wasn't by your sword or your bow.
13. 13I have given you a land you did not work for, and cities you did not build, and you live in them. You eat from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.
14. 14Now therefore, fear the LORD and serve him with sincerity and truth. Put away the gods your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15. 15And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve—whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
16. 16The people answered, "God forbid that we should abandon the LORD to serve other gods!"
17. 17For the LORD our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt, from the house of bondage. He performed those great signs before our eyes and protected us throughout our entire journey and among all the nations we passed through.
18. 18The LORD drove out all the people before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore, we will also serve the LORD, for he is our God.
19. 19Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins."
20. 20If you abandon the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and harm you, consuming you, even after he has done good for you.
21. 21But the people replied to Joshua, "No, we will serve the LORD."
22. 22Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD to serve him." They replied, "We are witnesses."
23. 23Now, therefore, get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and direct your hearts to the LORD God of Israel.
24. 24The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice."
25. 25That day Joshua made a covenant with the people and set up a statute and an ordinance for them at Shechem.
26. 26Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. He then took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the sanctuary of the LORD.
27. 27Joshua said to all the people, "Look at this stone; it will be a witness to us, because it has heard all the words the LORD spoke to us. It will be a witness to you, so you do not deny your God."
28. 28Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.
29. 29After these events, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
30. 30They buried him at the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the hill of Gaash.
31. 31Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had known all the works the LORD had done for Israel.
32. 32The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought up from Egypt, were buried in Shechem in a piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. This land became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
33. 33Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died, and they buried him on a hill that belonged to his son Phinehas, which was given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.