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          DASV: Joshua 24    

1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem,
and summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officers
of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD,
the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers,
Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond
the Euphrates River. They served other gods.
3 But I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates
River, and led him through all the land of Canaan,
and made his descendants many. I gave him Isaac.
4 To Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave to Esau Mount
Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went
down into Egypt.
5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by
what I did in the midst of it and afterward I brought
you out.
6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you came to the sea;
and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots
and horsemen to the Red Sea.
7 When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between
you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over top of
them and covered them. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt
and you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived
east of the Jordan River and they fought against you. I handed
them over to you and you took possession of their land,
and I destroyed them before you.
9 Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared
and fought against Israel. He sent and summoned Balaam the
son of Beor to curse you,
10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead he blessed you
and in this way I rescued you from his hand.
11 You crossed over the Jordan River, and came to Jericho.
The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites,
Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites
and Jebusites and I handed them over to you.
12 I sent terror ahead of you to drive out the two kings
of the Amorites. It was not done by your sword or bow.
13 I gave you a land that you have not worked on, and towns
you did not build, yet you are living there; I gave you fruit
to eat from vineyards and olive groves, yet you did not
plant them.'
14 Now, therefore, fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity
and truth. Put away the gods your fathers served beyond
the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15 If it seems offensive for you to serve the LORD, choose
you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods your fathers
served that were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

16 The people responded, "There is no way that we will forsake
the LORD, to serve other gods;
17 for the LORD our God, he is the one who brought us and
our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house
of bondage, and performed those great miracles in our sight.
He protected us whichever way we went, and among whatever
peoples we passed through.
18 The LORD drove out before us all the peoples, including
the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we too will
serve the LORD, for he is our God."

19 Then Joshua warned the people, "You cannot serve the LORD;
for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God and he will not
forgive your rebellion or your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he
will turn and do you harm, and will consume you, even
after having done you good."

21 The people answered Joshua, "No; we will serve the LORD."
22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against
yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD."
They affirmed, "We are witnesses."
23 "Now then," Joshua said, "Put away the foreign gods
that are among you and focus your heart on the LORD,
the God of Israel."
24 The people swore to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our
God and we will obey his voice."

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at
Shechem, and established rules and regulations for them.
26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God;
and he took a great stone, and set it up under the oak
that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will
be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words
of the LORD which he spoke to us. Therefore it will be
a witness against you, if you deny your God."

28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his own
land inheritance.
29 After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant
of the LORD, died, being a 110 years old.
30 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance
in Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim,
on the north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all
the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had
personally known everything the LORD had done for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought up
out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the parcel of
ground Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father
of Shechem for a 100 pieces of silver. It became the
land inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33 Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at
Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim in the land
allotted to his son Phinehas.

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