Joshua 24:14-33 - The Israelites Promise To Serve Yahweh
14 Honor Jehovah and serve him sincerely and in truth. Get rid of the gods that your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only Jehovah. 15 If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve Jehovah.'
16 The people replied: We would never leave Jehovah to serve other gods! 17 Jehovah our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt. We saw the miracles he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed. 18 As we advanced to this land, Jehovah drove out all the Amorites who lived here. We also will serve Jehovah. He is our God!
19 Joshua said to the people: You may not be able to serve Jehovah. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals, 20 and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before.
21 The people said to Joshua: No! We will serve Jehovah!
22 Joshua replied: You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve Jehovah. They said: We are witnesses!
23 Remove the foreign gods you have. He demanded: Pledge your loyalty to Jehovah, the God of Israel.
24 The people said to Joshua: We will serve Jehovah our God. We will obey his commands.
25 Joshua made a covenant for the people that day at Shechem. He gave them laws and rules to follow. 26 Joshua wrote these commands in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in Jehovah's sanctuary. 27 He told the people: This stone will serve as our witness. It has heard all the words that Jehovah spoke to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God. 28 Joshua sent the people away, and everyone returned to their own part of the land.
29 After that, Jehovah's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 They buried him on his own land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. 31 As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served Jehovah. After his death they continued to do so as long as those leaders were alive who had seen for themselves everything Jehovah had done for Israel.
32 The body of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought from Egypt, was buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. Joseph's descendants inherited this land.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, the town in the hill country of Ephraim that had been given to his son Phinehas.