Joshua 24 - Introduction

1 Ioshua assembleth the tribes at Shechem.

2 A briefe historie of Gods benefits from Terah.

14 He reneweth a couenant betweene them and God.

26 A stone the witnesse of the couenant.

29 Ioshuas age, death and buriall.

32 Iosephs bones are buried.

33 Eleazar dieth.

1 And Ioshua gathered all the Tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the Elders of Israel, and for their Heads, and for their Iudges, and for their Officers, and they presented themselues before God.

2 And Ioshua said vnto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, [Note: Genesis 11:31; Genesis 5:6-7.] Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, euen Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they serued other gods.

3 And I tooke your father Abraham fro the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and [Note: Genesis 21:2.] gaue him Isaac.

4 And I gaue vnto Isaac, [Note: Genesis 25:26.] Iacob and Esau: & I gaue vnto [Note: Genesis 36:8.] Esau mount Seir, to possesse it: [Note: Genesis 46:6.] but Iacob and his children went downe into Egypt.

5 [Note: Exodus 3:10.] I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did amongst them: and afterward, I brought you out.

6 And I [Note: Exodus 12:37.] brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came vnto the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with charets and horsemen vnto [Note: Exodus 14:9.] the red sea.

7 And when they cried vnto the Lord, hee put darkenesse betweene you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea vpon them, and couered them, and your eyes haue seene what I haue done in Egypt, and ye dwelt in the wildernes a long season.

8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Iordan: [Note: Numbers 21:33.] and they fought with you, and I gaue them into your hand, that ye might possesse their land, and I destroyed them from before you.

9 Then Balak the sonne of Zippor king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and [Note: Numbers 22:5; Deuteronomy 23:4.] sent and called Balaam

[Gods benefites on the Israelites.]

the sonne of Beor to curse you:

10 But I would not hearken vnto Balaam, therefore he blessed you still: so I deliuered you out of his hand.

11 And ye went ouer Iordan, and came vnto Iericho: and the men of Iericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, & the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hiuites, and the Iebusites, and I deliuered them into your hand.

12 And [Note: Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20.] I sent the hornet before you, which draue them out from before you, euen the two kings of the Amorites: but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

13 And I haue giuen you a land for which ye did not labour, & cities which ye built not, and yee dwell in them: of the vineyards and Oliue-yards which ye planted not, doe ye eate.

14 Now therefore, feare the Lord, and serue him in sinceritie, and in trueth, and put away the gods which your fathers serued on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt: and serue yee the Lord.

15 And if it seeme euill vnto you to serue the Lord, choose you this day whome you will serue, whether the gods which your fathers serued that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose lande ye dwell: but as for mee and my house, we will serue the Lord.

16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that wee should forsake the Lord, to serue other gods.

17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought vs vp and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, & which did those great signes in our sight, and preserued vs in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed.

18 And the Lord draue out from before vs all the people, euen the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serue the Lord, for he is our God.

19 And Ioshua said vnto the people, Ye cannot serue the Lord: for hee is an holy God: he is a ielous God, he will not forgiue your transgressions nor your sinnes.

20 If yee forsake the Lord, and serue strange gods, [Note: Joshua 23:15.] then he will turne, and doe you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

21 And the people said vnto Ioshua,

[Ioshuas exhortation, His age, and death.]

Nay, but we will serue the Lord.

22 And Ioshua said vnto the people, Yee are witnesses against your selues, that yee haue chosen you the Lord, to serue him. And they said, We are witnesses.

23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and encline your heart vnto the Lord God of Israel.

24 And the people saide vnto Ioshua; The Lord our God will we serue, and his voice will we obey.

25 So Ioshua made a couenant with the people that day, and set them a Statute, & an Ordinance in Shechem.

26 And Ioshua wrote these words in the booke of the Law of God, and tooke a great stone, and set it vp there, vnder an oake, that was by the Sanctuary of the Lord.

27 And Ioshua saide vnto all the people, Behold, this stone shalbe a witnesse vnto vs; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which hee spake vnto vs; it shall be there for a witnesse vnto you, lest ye deny your God.

[Ioshuas exhortation, His age, and death.]

28 So Ioshua let the people depart, euery man vnto his inheritance.

29 And it came to passe after these things, that Ioshua the sonne of Nun the seruant of the Lord died, being an hundred and ten yeeres old.

30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in [Note: Joshua 19:50; Judges 2:9.] Timnath-Serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the North side of the hill of Gaash.

31 And Israel serued the Lord all the dayes of Ioshua, & all the dayes of the Elders that [Note: Hebrew: prolonged their dayes after Ioshua.] ouerliued Ioshua, and which had knowen al the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.

32 And [Note: Genesis 50:25; Exodus 13:19.] the bones of Ioseph, which the children of Israel brought vp out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcell of ground which Iacob bought of [Note: Genesis 33:19.] the sonnes of Hamor the father of Shechem, for an hundred [Note: Or, lambs.] pieces of siluer; and it became the inheritance of the children of Ioseph.

33 And Eleazar the sonne of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was giuen him in mount Ephraim.