1Joshua assembleth the tribes at Shechem, 2and layeth before them a brief history of God's benefits from the days of Terah. 14He reneweth the covenant between God and them. 26A stone is set up to witness the covenant. 29Joshua's age, death, and burial. 32Joseph's bones are buried. 33Eleazar dieth.
1AND Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to aShechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their bofficers; and they cpresented themselves before God.
a Ge. 12.6,7; 33.18,19. ch. 17.7; 21.21; 23.2. v.25,32. b ch. 1.10. c 1Sa. 10.19.
2And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, dYour fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
d Ge. 11.26,31; 12.1; 31.53. De. 26.5. Eze. 16.3. Is. 51.2. v.14,15.
3And eI took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
e Ge. 11.26,28; 12-21. Ne. 9.7,8. Ps. 105.8-11. Ac. 7.2,3.
4And fI gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but gJacob and his children went down into Egypt.
f Ge. 25.24-26; 36.8-43. 1Ch. 1.34-54. Ps. 73.5-14. g Ge. 46. Ps. 105.23-25. Ac. 7.6-15.
5I hsent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.
h Ex. 3-14. Ne. 9.9-11. Ps. 81.5,6; 105.26-38; 106.7-11; 135.8,9; 136.10-14; 78.11-55; 77.15-20. Je. 32.20-22. Mi. 6.4.
6And I ibrought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.
i Ex. 12; 14; 15. Ac. 7.34-36.
7And when they cried unto the LORD, jhe put darkness between you and the Egyptians, kand brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and lyour eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and mye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
j Ex. 14.20. k Ex. 14.27,28. l De. 4.34; 29.2. m Nu. 14.33,34. Ps. 95.9,10. Ac. 7.36. Ne. 9.12-22. Is. 63.9.
8And I nbrought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; oand they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
n Nu. 21.24-35. De. 2.3. ch. 13. Ne. 9.22. Ps. 135.10-13; 136.17-22. o Nu. 21.21-35. De. 2.32; 3.1.
9Then pBalak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
p Nu. 22.5. De. 23.4,5. Ju. 11.25.
10But qI would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
q Nu. 22-24. De. 23.5. Mi. 6.5.
11And ye rwent over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
r ch. 3; 4.10; 6; 8; 10; 11. Ne. 9.24,25. Ps. 78.54,55; 105.44.
12And sI sent the hornet before you, which *drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
*drave-drove.
s Ex. 23.28. De. 7.20. Nu. 21.24-35. Ps. 44.3,6.
13And tI have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
t De. 6.10,11; 8.7-18. Ne. 9.25. Pr. 13.22. Es. 8.7. Da. 7.25. Mat. 11.28. ch. 11.13.
14¶Now therefore ufear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and vput away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and win Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
u Ps. 116.8,9. 2Ki. 20.3. Jn. 4.23,24. Eze. 20.7,8,18. Am. 5.25,26. Ex. 20.3,4. Ezr. 9.11-14. v Le. 17.7. v.2,23. w Eze. 23.3; 20.7,8.
15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, xchoose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or ythe gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but zas for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
x Ru. 1.15. Eze. 20.39. 1Ki. 18.21. De. 30.15-20. y Ex. 23.24,32,33; 34.15. De. 6.14; 13.7. Ju. 6.10. z Mat. 26.33,35. Jn. 6.68. Ge. 6.9; 18.19. Ro. 12.2. Ps. 116.16; 101.2-8. Tit. 2.11,12.
16And the people answered and said, aGod forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
a 1Sa. 12.23. Ro. 3.6; 6.2. He. 10.38,39.
17For bthe LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
b v.5-13. Ex. 19.4. De. 32.11,12. Is. 46.4; 63.7-14. Eze. 20.5-28. Ac. 7.30-45; 13.17,18. Am. 2.9,10.
18And cthe LORD *drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore dwill we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
*drave-drove.
c Nu. 21. ch. 6-12. d Ex. 10.2-16; 15.2. Lu. 1.74,75. Ps. 116.16; 118.28. 2Co. 6.18; 7.1. Jn. 6.68.
19And Joshua said unto the people, eYe cannot serve the LORD: for he is fan holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
e Mat. 6.24. Lu. 14.28. v.23. f Ex. 15.11; 20.5; 23.21. Is. 5.16; 6.3,5. Hab. 1.13. Le. 19.2. 1Sa. 6.20. Ps. 99.5,9.
20If ye gforsake the LORD, and serve *strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
*strange-foreign.
g ch. 23.12-15. Eze. 18.24. 2Co. 11.2. Le. 26.14-39. De. 28.15-68; 32.15-27.
21And the people said unto Joshua, hNay; but we will serve the LORD.
h Ex. 19.8; 20.19; 24.3,7. De. 5.27,28.
22And Joshua said unto the people, iYe are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
i Lu. 19.22. Job 15.5,6. Ps. 119.173. Is. 43.10.
23Now therefore jput away, said he , the *strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
*strange-foreign.
j v.14. Ge. 35.2. Ex. 20.23. 2Co. 6.15,17. Am. 5.14,15,25,26. Ac. 7.43. Ju. 10.16. 1Sa. 7.3.
24And the people said unto Joshua, kThe LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
k v.18,21. Ps. 119.106,115.
25So Joshua lmade a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
l Ex. 15.25; 24.3,7,8. De. 5.2,3; 29.1-15. 2Ch. 15.12-15; 23.16; 29.10; 34.29-32. Ne. 9.38. 2Ki. 11.17.
26¶And Joshua mwrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
m ch. 4.3. Ex. 24.4. De. 31.24-26. Ge. 28.18; 31.45; 35.4,14.
27And Joshua said unto all the people, nBehold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
n De. 32.1; 4.26; 30.19. Ge. 31.48,52. ch. 22.27,28,34. Is. 1.2. Lu. 19.40.
28So oJoshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
o Ju. 2.6.
29¶And it came to pass pafter these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
p Ju. 2.8,9. De. 34.5. 2Ti. 4.7,8. Ps. 116.15. Re. 14.13. ch. 23.14.
30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in qTimnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
q ch. 19.50. Ju. 2.9. 2Sa. 23.30.
31And Israel rserved the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that 1overlived Joshua, and swhich had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
1Heb. prolonged their days after Joshua.
r Ju. 2.7. 2Ki. 12.2. Ac. 20.29. Mat. 13.25. s De. 11.2.
32¶tAnd the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a u*parcel of ground which Jacob bought of vthe sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred 2pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
*parcel-piece, portion.
2Or, lambs.
t Ge. 50.25. Ex. 13.19. Ac. 7.16. u Ge. 48.22. v Ge. 33.19.
33wAnd Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to xPhinehas his son, which was given him in ymount Ephraim.
w Ex. 6.23,25. Nu. 3.32; 20.26,28. ch. 14.1; 23.14. Zec. 1.5. Job 30.23. He. 7.24; 9.27. Ps. 49.7,9,10; 89.47,48. x ch. 22.13. y ch. 17.15. Ju. 2.9.