Joshua 24:11-25

24:11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. ¹  The leaders ²  of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 24:12 I sent terror ³  ahead of you to drive out before you the two ⁴  Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows. ⁵  24:13 I gave you a land in ⁶  which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of ⁷  vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

24:14 Now ⁸  obey ⁹  the Lord and worship ¹⁰  him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors ¹¹  worshiped ¹²  beyond the Euphrates ¹³  and in Egypt and worship ¹⁴  the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire ¹⁵  to worship ¹⁶  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ¹⁷  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ¹⁸  worshiped ¹⁹  beyond the Euphrates, ²⁰  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ²¹  will worship ²²  the Lord!”

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can ²³  worship ²⁴  other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ²⁵  in the land of Egypt ²⁶  and performed these awesome miracles ²⁷  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ²⁸  24:18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship ²⁹  the Lord, for he is our God!”

24:19 Joshua warned ³⁰  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ³¹  the Lord, for ³²  he is a holy God. ³³  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ³⁴  your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If ³⁵  you abandon the Lord and worship ³⁶  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ³⁷  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ³⁸  though he once treated you well.” ³⁹ 

24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will ⁴⁰  worship ⁴¹  the Lord!” 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” ⁴²  They replied, “We are witnesses!” ⁴³  24:23 Joshua said, ⁴⁴  “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to ⁴⁵  the Lord God of Israel.”

24:24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship ⁴⁶  the Lord our God and obey him.” ⁴⁷ 

24:25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement ⁴⁸  for the people, and he established rules and regulations ⁴⁹  for them in Shechem.

[24:11]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[24:11]  ² tn Or perhaps, “citizens.”

[24:12]  ³ tn Traditionally, “the hornet” (so KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) but the precise meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (cf. NEB “panic”).

[24:12]  ⁴ tn The LXX has “twelve,” apparently understanding this as a reference to Amorite kings west of the Jordan (see Josh 5:1, rather than the trans-Jordanian Amorite kings Sihon and Og (see Josh 2:10; 9:10).

[24:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “and it drove them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow.” The words “I gave you the victory” are supplied for clarification.

[24:13]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “for.”

[24:13]  ⁶ tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.

[24:14]  ⁷ sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

[24:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “fear.”

[24:14]  ⁹ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “served.”

[24:14]  ¹² tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:14]  ¹³ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ¹² tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ¹³ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to.”

[24:16]  ¹² tn Or “can serve.”

[24:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[24:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for the Lord our God, he is the one who brought up us and our fathers from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”

[24:17]  ¹⁵ tn Or “great signs.”

[24:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”

[24:18]  ¹⁵ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “said to.”

[24:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”

[24:19]  ¹⁹ sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.

[24:19]  ²⁰ tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.

[24:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”

[24:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “when.”

[24:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:20]  ²¹ tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.

[24:20]  ²² tn Heb “bring you to an end.”

[24:20]  ²³ tn Heb “after he did good for you.”

[24:21]  ²¹ tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”

[24:21]  ²² tn Or “will serve.”

[24:22]  ²³ tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”

[24:22]  ²⁴ sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.

[24:23]  ²⁵ tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.

[24:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.

[24:24]  ²⁷ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and listen to his voice.”

[24:25]  ²⁹ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[24:25]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.”