24
1 And Yehoshua gathered Kol Shivtei Yisroel to Shechem, and called for the Ziknei Yisroel, and for their Rashim, and for their shofetim, and for their shoterim; and they presented themselves before HaElohim. 2 And Yehoshua said unto Kol HaAm, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel, Avoteichem dwelt on the other side of the* River long ago, even Terach, Avi Avraham, and Avi Nachor: and they served elohim acherim. 3 But I took Avichem Avraham from the other side of the† River, and led him through Kol Eretz Kena'an, and multiplied his zera, and gave him Yitzchak. 4 And I gave unto Yitzchak Ya'akov and Esav; and I gave unto Esav Mt Se'ir, to possess it; but Ya'akov and his banim went down into Mitzrayim. 5 I sent Moshe also and Aharon, and I plagued Mitzrayim, according to that which I did among them; and afterward I brought you out. 6 And I brought Avoteichem out of Mitzrayim; and ye came unto the Yam [Suf]; the Mitzrayim pursued after Avoteichem with chariots and parashim unto the Yam Suf. 7 And when they cried unto Hashem, He put darkness between you and the Mitzrayim, and brought the yam upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Mitzrayim; and ye dwelt in the midbar yamim rabbim. 8 And I brought you into the Eretz HaEmori, the ones dwelling on the other side of the Yarden; they fought against you; I gave them into your yad, that ye might possess their land; I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak ben Tzippor Melech Moav arose and warred against Yisroel, and sent and summoned Balaam ben Be'or to curse you; 10 But I would not pay heed unto Balaam; therefore he made a brocha over you; so I saved you out of his yad. 11 And you went over the Yarden, and came unto Yericho; and the Ba'alei Yericho fought against you, and HaEmori, and the Perizzi, and the Kena'ani, and the Chitti, and the Girgashi, the Chivi, and the Yevusi; and I gave them into your yad. 12 And I sent the tzirah (hornet) before you, which drove them out ahead of you, even the two melachim of the Emori; but not with thy cherev, nor with thy keshet.
13 So I have given you an Eretz for which ye did not toil, and towns which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; kramim and zetim (olive groves) which ye eat but did not plant. 14 Now therefore fear Hashem, serve Him batamim (completely) and in emes; put away the elohim which Avoteichem served on the other side of the‡ River, and in Mitzrayim; and serve ye Hashem. 15 And if it seem rah unto you to serve Hashem, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the elohim which Avoteichem served that were on the other side of the River, or the elohei HaEmori, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my bais, we will serve Hashem. 16 And the people answered and said, Chalilah lanu (far be it from us) that we should forsake Hashem, to serve elohim acharim; 17 For Hashem Eloheinu, He it is that brought us up and Avoteinu out of Eretz Mitzrayim, from the bais avadim, and which did those haotot hagedolot in our sight, and was shomer over us in kol HaDerech in which we went, and among Kol HaAmim through whom we passed;
18 And Hashem drove out from before us Kol HaAmim, even HaEmori which dwelt in HaAretz; therefore will we also serve Hashem; for He is Eloheinu. 19 And Yehoshua said unto HaAm, Ye are not able to serve Hashem; for He is an Elohim Kedoshim; He is an El Kanno (jealous G-d); He will not forgive your paysha'im nor your chattot. 20 If ye forsake Hashem, and serve elohei nekhar (foreign g-ds), then He will turn and bring you rah, and consume you, after that He hath done you tov.
21 And HaAm said unto Yehoshua, No; but we will serve Hashem. 22 And Yehoshua said unto HaAm, Ye are edim against yourselves that ye have chosen for you Hashem, to serve Him. And they said, We are edim. 23 Now therefore put away, said he, the elohei hanechar which are among you, and yield your levav unto Hashem Elohei Yisroel. 24 And HaAm said unto Yehoshua, Hashem Eloheinu will we serve, and His voice will we obey. 25 So Yehoshua made a Brit with HaAm that day, and set them a chok and a mishpat at Shechem. 26 And Yehoshua wrote these words in the Sefer Torah Elohim, and took an Even Gedolah, and set it up there under an oak, that was near the Mikdash Hashem. 27 And Yehoshua said unto kol HaAm, Hinei, this Even (Stone) shall be as an edah (witness) unto us; for it hath heard all the words of Hashem which He spoke unto us; it shall be therefore as an edah (witness) unto you, lest ye are untrue to Eloheichem. 28 So Yehoshua sent HaAm away, every man unto his nachalah. 29 And it came to pass after these things, that Yehoshua ben Nun Eved Hashem, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his nachalah in Timnat-Serach, which is in har Ephrayim, north of Mt Ga'ash. 31 And Yisroel served Hashem all the days of Yehoshua, and all the days of the Zekenim that outlived Yehoshua, and which had da'as of kol ma'asei Hashem, that He had done for Yisroel. 32 And the atzmot Yosef, which the Bnei Yisroel brought up out of Mitzrayim, they buried at Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Ya'akov bought of the Bnei Chamor Av Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver: and it became the nachalah of the Bnei Yosef. 33 And El'azar ben Aharon died; and they buried him on a hill that belonged to Pinchas his son, which was given him in har Ephrayim.
* 24:2 Euphrates † 24:3 Euphrates ‡ 24:14 Euphrates