Joshua 23-24

The Voice

In this final section of this book (chapters 23–24), Joshua’s speeches recap the story of their exodus from Egypt, remind the Israelites (and us) that God has been faithful in keeping all His promises, and call the people of Israel to accountability and faithfulness. It is this last charge that they will fail to keep—and that failure will cause the people of Israel so much trouble in the generations to come.

23 After Israel had taken possession of their inheritances and the Eternal had given them peace for many years and when Joshua was very old, ²he summoned all of Israel, their judges and officers and leaders.

Joshua: I am an old man. ³You have seen everything the Eternal One, your True God, did to these nations for you; the Eternal One, your True God, fought for you. ⁴I have allotted as your tribes’ inheritances the territories of those people who still remain, as well as all the nations I captured from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. ⁵The Eternal your God will push them out of their lands and out of your sight and you will live in their lands, just as He promised you. ⁶So be firm and unswerving, observing all that is written in the law of Moses without deviation. ⁷That will ensure that you don’t start to blend in with the other nations around you or call upon their gods or worship them or serve them. ⁸Just hold tightly to the Eternal One, your True God, as you always have, ⁹for He has driven out great and powerful nations before you like leaves in the wind, and you know that no one has ever been able to stand against you. ¹⁰One of you can pursue a thousand because it is He who fights for you, just as He promised.

¹¹So always be careful to love the Eternal One, your God. ¹²If you turn away from Him and toward those left of the foreign nations among you—if your women marry them and their women marry you— ¹³you can be sure that the Eternal will turn from you. He won’t remove the nations around you, but instead He will let them be a snare for you to be caught in, a wound in your sides, and thorns in your eyes until you perish from this good land that He has given you.

¹⁴The time has come for me to die and return to the earth. But I want to leave you with these thoughts: Think back and you will know without a doubt that not one single good thing that the Eternal One, your God, promised you has been left undone. Not a single one.

¹⁵But in the same way the Eternal One, your True God, has fulfilled all these blessings, you can be sure that if you turn away from Him, He will fulfill the curses until the Eternal has obliterated you from this good land He gave you. ¹⁶If you break the commandments that He has laid upon you and turn from Him to serve and worship other gods, then His anger will flare white-hot against you, and you will quickly be wiped from the face of this good land He has given you.

The Book of Deuteronomy, which precedes Joshua, records Moses giving a similar farewell speech prior to his death. Moses reminded the people of Israel where they had come from and foretold many of the things that later came to pass when they entered into the promised land of Canaan. Joshua’s speech does the same thing. He reminds the Israelites of their story, and he warns the people of Israel that if they turn from their faith in God they should expect curses instead of the blessings they have experienced.

24 So Joshua summoned all of the tribes of Israel together at Shechem, all the leaders, judges, officers, and elders, and they stood in the presence of the True God.

Joshua: ²The Eternal One, the True God of Israel has told me to give you this message: “Many years ago, your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River where they served other gods. ³But I took your father Abraham and led him over the river and into the land of Canaan, and I made his descendants numerous. I gave him Isaac, ⁴and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the highlands of Seir for a possession, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. ⁵When the time came for them to be delivered, I sent Moses and Aaron, I struck Egypt with plagues, and I brought you out of Egypt.

⁶When I brought you out of Egypt, your ancestors were closely pursued by soldiers in their chariots of war to the Red Sea itself. ⁷When they cried out to the Eternal, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea to cover and drown them, every one, in the sea. Your own eyes saw this. You lived in the desert for a long time, wandering in the wilderness. ⁸Finally I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you; but I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land. I destroyed them before you.

⁹When Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, decided to attack Israel, he called on Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you, ¹⁰but I would not listen to Balaam. All he could do was bless you. I delivered you out of his clutches.

¹¹When you crossed over the Jordan into the land of Canaan and came to Jericho, the leaders^[a] of Jericho fought against you. So did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave them all into your power.

¹²I sent hornets ahead of you to run off the two kings of the Amorites; it was not done by your bow or sword. ¹³I delivered to you fields you had not worked and towns you had not built, yet today you live in them. You eat the fruit of olive trees and of grape vineyards you did not even have to plant.”

¹⁴So remember: fear the Eternal and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Put away from you any gods your ancestors served across the Euphrates River or in Egypt, and serve only Him. ¹⁵If you decide that you’re not willing to serve Him, then today is the day for you to choose whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors bowed to in the land beyond the great River, or the gods of the Amorites whose country you possess. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Eternal.

This people that complained in the wilderness now acknowledges that God alone gave them this land, and they pledge their faithfulness to Him.

People of Israel (responding): ¹⁶Nothing could be further from our minds than abandoning the Eternal to serve other gods. ¹⁷We know that the Eternal One our God rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. We remember that He performed all those great signs in front of us. He protected us from the people we passed as we traveled. ¹⁸And we know that He removed the Amorites and all the peoples who lived in Canaan. We, too, will serve the Eternal One, for He is our True God.

Joshua (warning them): ¹⁹If you think you will be able to serve the Eternal, you are wrong. He is a holy God and a jealous God; He will not tolerate your shortcomings and your sins. ²⁰If you desert Him and worship these foreign gods, He will fall upon you and totally consume you, even though He has done all this great good for you.

People of Israel: ²¹All the same, we choose to serve the Eternal.

Joshua: ²²All right, then. You are witnesses—against yourselves, if it comes to that—that you have made this choice to serve the Eternal.

Israel: We are witnesses to it.

Joshua (repeating): ²³Then you must put all other gods away from you and turn your hearts to the Eternal God of Israel.

Israel: ²⁴We will serve the Eternal One, our God, and we will obey His voice.

²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem and gave them statutes and ordinances to obey. ²⁶Joshua wrote the words in the scroll of the law, and he had a large stone set up underneath the oak tree near the Eternal’s holy place.

Joshua (to all the people): ²⁷This stone will also be a witness to your vow. It has heard all the words the Eternal spoke to us, so it will be a witness if you turn your backs on your True God.

²⁸So he sent the people away, back to the lands He had given them.

²⁹After that, Joshua, the son of Nun, the Eternal’s servant, died at the age of 110. ³⁰They buried him in the land he had been given at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim to the north of Mount Gaash.

³¹And Israel served the Eternal faithfully for as long as Joshua lived, and then throughout the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had seen all the mighty things that the Eternal One did for Israel.

³²The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had carried out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought from the descendants of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver, and which had been passed on to the people of Joseph as an inheritance.

³³Eventually Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died. They buried him at Gibeah, in the city his son Phinehas had been granted in the highlands of Ephraim.

Footnotes

24:11 Hebrew has “Baals of Jericho.”

Joshua 23-24

New International Version

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest^(A) from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,^(B) ²summoned all Israel—their elders,^(C) leaders, judges and officials^(D)—and said to them: “I am very old.^(E) ³You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.^(F) ⁴Remember how I have allotted^(G) as an inheritance^(H) for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea^(I) in the west. ⁵The Lord your God himself will push them out^(J) for your sake. He will drive them out^(K) before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.^(L)

⁶“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law^(M) of Moses, without turning aside^(N) to the right or to the left.^(O) ⁷Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear^(P) by them. You must not serve them or bow down^(Q) to them. ⁸But you are to hold fast to the Lord^(R) your God, as you have until now.

⁹“The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations;^(S) to this day no one has been able to withstand you.^(T) ¹⁰One of you routs a thousand,^(U) because the Lord your God fights for you,^(V) just as he promised. ¹¹So be very careful^(W) to love the Lord^(X) your God.

¹²“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them^(Y) and associate with them,^(Z) ¹³then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out^(AA) these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares^(AB) and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes,^(AC) until you perish from this good land,^(AD) which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.^(AE) You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise^(AF) has been fulfilled; not one has failed.^(AG) ¹⁵But just as all the good things^(AH) the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things^(AI) he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you^(AJ) from this good land he has given you.^(AK) ¹⁶If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.^(AL)”

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

24 Then Joshua assembled^(AM) all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.^(AN) He summoned^(AO) the elders,^(AP) leaders, judges and officials of Israel,^(AQ) and they presented themselves before God.

²Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor,^(AR) lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.^(AS) ³But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan^(AT) and gave him many descendants.^(AU) I gave him Isaac,^(AV) ⁴and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.^(AW) I assigned the hill country of Seir^(AX) to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.^(AY)

⁵“‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron,^(AZ) and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.^(BA) ⁶When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea,^(BB) and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen^[a]^(BC) as far as the Red Sea.^[b]^(BD) ⁷But they cried^(BE) to the Lord for help, and he put darkness^(BF) between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them.^(BG) You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.^(BH) Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.^(BI)

⁸“‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites^(BJ) who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.^(BK) ⁹When Balak son of Zippor,^(BL) the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor^(BM) to put a curse on you.^(BN) ¹⁰But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you^(BO) again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

¹¹“‘Then you crossed the Jordan^(BP) and came to Jericho.^(BQ) The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites,^(BR) Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,^(BS) but I gave them into your hands.^(BT) ¹²I sent the hornet^(BU) ahead of you, which drove them out^(BV) before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.^(BW) ¹³So I gave you a land^(BX) on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’^(BY)

¹⁴“Now fear the Lord^(BZ) and serve him with all faithfulness.^(CA) Throw away the gods^(CB) your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,^(CC) and serve the Lord. ¹⁵But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,^(CD) in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,^(CE) we will serve the Lord.”^(CF)

¹⁶Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake^(CG) the Lord to serve other gods! ¹⁷It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,^(CH) and performed those great signs^(CI) before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. ¹⁸And the Lord drove out^(CJ) before us all the nations,^(CK) including the Amorites, who lived in the land.^(CL) We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.^(CM)”

¹⁹Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God;^(CN) he is a jealous God.^(CO) He will not forgive^(CP) your rebellion^(CQ) and your sins. ²⁰If you forsake the Lord^(CR) and serve foreign gods, he will turn^(CS) and bring disaster^(CT) on you and make an end of you,^(CU) after he has been good to you.”

²¹But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

²²Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses^(CV) against yourselves that you have chosen^(CW) to serve the Lord.”

“Yes, we are witnesses,^(CX)” they replied.

²³“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods^(CY) that are among you and yield your hearts^(CZ) to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

²⁴And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”^(DA)

²⁵On that day Joshua made a covenant^(DB) for the people, and there at Shechem^(DC) he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.^(DD) ²⁶And Joshua recorded^(DE) these things in the Book of the Law of God.^(DF) Then he took a large stone^(DG) and set it up there under the oak^(DH) near the holy place of the Lord.

²⁷“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone^(DI) will be a witness^(DJ) against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue^(DK) to your God.”^(DL)

²⁸Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.^(DM)

Buried in the Promised Land^(DN)

²⁹After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died^(DO) at the age of a hundred and ten.^(DP) ³⁰And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah^[c]^(DQ) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.^(DR)

³¹Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders^(DS) who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

³²And Joseph’s bones,^(DT) which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,^(DU) were buried at Shechem in the tract of land^(DV) that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver^[d] from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.

³³And Eleazar son of Aaron^(DW) died and was buried at Gibeah,^(DX) which had been allotted to his son Phinehas^(DY) in the hill country^(DZ) of Ephraim.

Footnotes

Joshua 24:6 Or charioteers
Joshua 24:6 Or the Sea of Reeds
Joshua 24:30 Also known as Timnath Heres (see Judges 2:9)
Joshua 24:32 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.

The Voice (VOICE)

New International Version (NIV)

Joshua 23-24

The Voice

Footnotes

Joshua 23-24

New International Version

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

Buried in the Promised Land^(DN)

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Joshua 23-24 The Voice

Footnotes

Joshua 23-24 New International Version

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

Buried in the Promised Land(DN)

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Joshua 23-24

The Voice

Joshua 23-24

New International Version

Buried in the Promised Land^(DN)