22:1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 22:2 and told them: “You have carried out all the instructions of Moses the Lord’s servant, and you have obeyed all I have told you. ¹  22:3 You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites ²  this entire time, ³  right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God. ⁴  22:4 Now the Lord your God has made your fellow Israelites secure, ⁵  just as he promised them. So now you may turn around and go to your homes ⁶  in your own land ⁷  which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned to you east of the Jordan. 22:5 But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love ⁸  the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, ⁹  obey ¹⁰  his commands, be loyal to him, ¹¹  and serve him with all your heart and being!” ¹² 

22:6 Joshua rewarded ¹³  them and sent them on their way; they returned to their homes. ¹⁴  22:7 (Now to one half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had assigned land on the west side of the Jordan with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, ¹⁵  he rewarded ¹⁶  them, 22:8 saying, “Take home ¹⁷  great wealth, a lot of cattle, ¹⁸  silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a lot of ¹⁹  clothing. Divide up the goods captured from your enemies with your brothers.” 22:9 So the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and headed home to their own land in Gilead, ²⁰  which they acquired by the Lord’s command through Moses.

22:10 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan and built there, near the Jordan, an impressive altar. ²¹  22:11 The Israelites received this report: ²²  “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to ²³  the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.” 22:12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them. ²⁴ 

22:13 The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 22:14 He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. ²⁵  22:15 They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: 22:16 “The entire community of the Lord says, ‘Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord. ²⁶  22:17 The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord. ²⁷  22:18 Now today you dare to turn back ²⁸  from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against ²⁹  the entire community of Israel. 22:19 But if your own land ³⁰  is impure, ³¹  cross over to the Lord’s own land, ³²  where the Lord himself lives, ³³  and settle down among us. ³⁴  But don’t rebel against the Lord or us ³⁵  by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God. 22:20 When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, ³⁶  though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’” ³⁷ 

22:21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders ³⁸  of the Israelite clans: 22:22 “El, God, the Lord! ³⁹  El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! ⁴⁰  Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, ⁴¹  don’t spare us ⁴²  today! 22:23 If we have built ⁴³  an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making ⁴⁴  burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering ⁴⁵  tokens of peace ⁴⁶  on it, the Lord himself will punish us. ⁴⁷  22:24 We swear we have done this because we were worried that ⁴⁸  in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? ⁴⁹  22:25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’ ⁵⁰  In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying ⁵¹  the Lord. 22:26 So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, 22:27 but as a reminder to us and you, ⁵²  and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence ⁵³  with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. ⁵⁴  Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’ ⁵⁵  22:28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing ⁵⁶  to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors ⁵⁷  made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’ ⁵⁸  22:29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace ⁵⁹  aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!” ⁶⁰ 

22:30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, ⁶¹  they were satisfied. ⁶²  22:31 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, ⁶³  “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. ⁶⁴  Now ⁶⁵  you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.” ⁶⁶ 

22:32 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan. ⁶⁷  22:33 The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. ⁶⁸  They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived. ⁶⁹  22:34 The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us ⁷⁰  that the Lord is God.”

23:1 A long time ⁷¹  passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies, ⁷²  and Joshua was very old. ⁷³  23:2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. 23:3 You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you. ⁷⁴  23:4 See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations, ⁷⁵  from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea ⁷⁶  in the west, including all the nations I defeated. ⁷⁷  23:5 The Lord your God will drive them out from before you and remove them, ⁷⁸  so you can occupy ⁷⁹  their land as the Lord your God promised ⁸⁰  you. 23:6 Be very strong! Carefully obey ⁸¹  all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, 23:7 or associate with these nations that remain near ⁸²  you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! ⁸³  You must not worship ⁸⁴  or bow down to them! 23:8 But you must be loyal to ⁸⁵  the Lord your God, as you have been ⁸⁶  to this very day.

23:9 “The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you ⁸⁷  to this very day. 23:10 One of you makes a thousand run away, ⁸⁸  for the Lord your God fights for you ⁸⁹  as he promised you he would. ⁹⁰  23:11 Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God! ⁹¹  23:12 But if you ever turn away and make alliances with ⁹²  these nations that remain near you, ⁹³  and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them, ⁹⁴  23:13 know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you; ⁹⁵  they will be a whip that tears ⁹⁶  your sides and thorns that blind ⁹⁷  your eyes until you disappear ⁹⁸  from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

23:14 “Look, today I am about to die. ⁹⁹  You know with all your heart and being ¹⁰⁰  that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized – not one promise is unfulfilled! ¹⁰¹  23:15 But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, ¹⁰²  it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment ¹⁰³  until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. 23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, ¹⁰⁴  and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, ¹⁰⁵  the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear ¹⁰⁶  quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

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 ¹⁰⁷  lived beyond the Euphrates River, ¹⁰⁸  including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped ¹⁰⁹  other gods, 24:3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates ¹¹⁰  and brought him into ¹¹¹  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, ¹¹²  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. ¹¹³  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 ¹¹⁴  cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, ¹¹⁵  and then drowned them in the sea. ¹¹⁶  You witnessed with your very own eyes ¹¹⁷  what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. ¹¹⁸  24:8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought with you, but I handed them over to you; you conquered ¹¹⁹  their land and I destroyed them from before you. 24:9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack ¹²⁰  against Israel. He summoned ¹²¹  Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment ¹²²  on you. 24:10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept ¹²³  prophesying good things about ¹²⁴  you, and I rescued you from his power. ¹²⁵  24:11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. ¹²⁶  The leaders ¹²⁷  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 ¹²⁸  ahead of you to drive out before you the two ¹²⁹  Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows. ¹³⁰  24:13 I gave you a land in ¹³¹  which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of ¹³²  vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

24:14 Now ¹³³  obey ¹³⁴  the Lord and worship ¹³⁵  him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors ¹³⁶  worshiped ¹³⁷  beyond the Euphrates ¹³⁸  and in Egypt and worship ¹³⁹  the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire ¹⁴⁰  to worship ¹⁴¹  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ¹⁴²  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ¹⁴³  worshiped ¹⁴⁴  beyond the Euphrates, ¹⁴⁵  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ¹⁴⁶  will worship ¹⁴⁷  the Lord!”

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can ¹⁴⁸  worship ¹⁴⁹  other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ¹⁵⁰  in the land of Egypt ¹⁵¹  and performed these awesome miracles ¹⁵²  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ¹⁵³  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 ¹⁵⁴  the Lord, for he is our God!”

24:19 Joshua warned ¹⁵⁵  the people, “You will not keep worshiping ¹⁵⁶  the Lord, for ¹⁵⁷  he is a holy God. ¹⁵⁸  He is a jealous God who will not forgive ¹⁵⁹  your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If ¹⁶⁰  you abandon the Lord and worship ¹⁶¹  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ¹⁶²  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ¹⁶³  though he once treated you well.” ¹⁶⁴ 

24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will ¹⁶⁵  worship ¹⁶⁶  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?” ¹⁶⁷  They replied, “We are witnesses!” ¹⁶⁸  24:23 Joshua said, ¹⁶⁹  “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to ¹⁷⁰  the Lord God of Israel.”

24:24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship ¹⁷¹  the Lord our God and obey him.” ¹⁷² 

24:25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement ¹⁷³  for the people, and he established rules and regulations ¹⁷⁴  for them in Shechem. 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. ¹⁷⁵  It will be a witness against you if ¹⁷⁶  you deny your God.” 24:28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land. ¹⁷⁷ 

24:29 After all this ¹⁷⁸  Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 24:30 They buried him in his allotted territory ¹⁷⁹  in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 24:31 Israel worshiped ¹⁸⁰  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. ¹⁸¹  These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. ¹⁸² 

24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. ¹⁸³  So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. ¹⁸⁴ 

24:33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land. ¹⁸⁵