1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called for the elders of Israel, their leaders, their judges, and their officers, and they presented themselves before God.
2Joshua said to all the people, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived across the Euphrates River, and they served other gods.
3I brought your father Abraham from across the Euphrates River and led him throughout the entire land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants and gave him Isaac.
4I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. I gave Mount Seir to Esau to possess it, but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
5‘I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with plagues, according to what I did among them. Afterward, I brought you out.
6I 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.
7When they cried out to Yahweh, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them and covered them. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for many days.
8‘I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who lived beyond the Jordan River. They fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. You took their land, and I destroyed them from before you.’
9Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, came and fought against Israel. He sent for Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you,
10but I would not listen to Balaam. So he ended up blessing you instead. That’s how I rescued you from him.
11You crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you—including the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—but I helped you defeat them.
12I sent the hornet ahead of you, which forced them out before you arrived, even the two Amorite kings. You did not achieve this with your sword or your bow.
13I gave you a land you hadn't worked for, and cities you didn't build, and now you live in them. You eat from vineyards and olive groves you didn't plant.'
14Now, you must respect Yahweh and serve him truly and faithfully. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.
15If you think it's wrong to serve Yahweh, then decide today whom you will serve: either the gods your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my family, we will serve Yahweh.”
16The people answered, “We would never abandon Yahweh to serve other gods!
17It was Yahweh our God who brought us and our ancestors out of Egypt, where we were slaves. He performed amazing miracles right before our eyes and protected us throughout our journey and among all the nations we passed through.
18Yahweh drove out all the nations for us, even the Amorites who lived in this land. So we will also serve Yahweh, because he is our God.”
19Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God who will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.
20If you abandon Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn against you, bring disaster upon you, and completely destroy you, even after doing so much good for you.”
21The people replied to Joshua, “No, we will serve Yahweh!”
22Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”
23“So now, get rid of the foreign gods among you, and commit your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”
24The people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will obey him.”
25So that day, Joshua made an agreement with the people and established laws and rules for them in Shechem.
26Joshua wrote these words in the book of God's law. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near Yahweh’s sanctuary.
27Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against us, because it has heard every word Yahweh spoke to us. It will be a witness against you so that you do not deny your God.”
28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to their own land.
29After these events, Joshua, son of Nun, Yahweh's servant, died at 110 years old.
30They buried him in his inherited land at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31The people of Israel served Yahweh throughout Joshua's lifetime and during the lives of the elders who outlived Joshua and had experienced all the great things Yahweh had done for Israel.
32The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought from Egypt, were buried in Shechem. This was in the piece of land Jacob had bought from Hamor's sons (Hamor was Shechem's father) for 100 pieces of silver. This land became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.
33Eleazar, Aaron's son, also died. They buried him on the hill belonging to his son Phinehas, which was given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.