Yosua 24:1-2

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,

Yosua 24:14-18

24:14 Now ⁴  obey ⁵  the Lord and worship ⁶  him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors ⁷  worshiped ⁸  beyond the Euphrates ⁹  and in Egypt and worship ¹⁰  the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire ¹¹  to worship ¹²  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ¹³  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ¹⁴  worshiped ¹⁵  beyond the Euphrates, ¹⁶  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ¹⁷  will worship ¹⁸  the Lord!”

24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can ¹⁹  worship ²⁰  other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery ²¹  in the land of Egypt ²²  and performed these awesome miracles ²³  before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. ²⁴  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 ²⁵  the Lord, for he is our God!”

[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.”

[24:14]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “fear.”

[24:14]  ⁶ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:14]  ⁸ tn Or “served.”

[24:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and serve.”

[24:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ¹² tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ¹³ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ¹⁸ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to.”

[24:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “can serve.”

[24:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[24:17]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Or “great signs.”

[24:17]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Or “will serve.”