Joshua 24:1-7

Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord

24:1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God. 24:2 Joshua told all the people, “Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestors ¹  lived beyond the Euphrates River, ²  including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped ³  other gods, 24:3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates ⁴  and brought him into ⁵  the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac, 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned Mount Seir, ⁶  while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt down when I intervened in their land. ⁷  Then I brought you out. 24:6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 24:7 Your fathers ⁸  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ⁹  and then drowned them in the sea. ¹⁰  You witnessed with your very own eyes ¹¹  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ¹² 

[24:2]  ¹ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:2]  ² tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:2]  ³ tn Or “served.”

[24:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:3]  ⁵ tn Or “through.”

[24:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it.”

[24:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “by that which I did in its midst.”

[24:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).

[24:7]  ⁹ tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”

[24:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your eyes saw.”

[24:7]  ¹² tn Heb “many days.”