Updated on

JOS

Joshua 24 - Simple English

OriginalSimple EnglishSimpleNew Summary

Read Joshua Chapter 24

Up and down arrows move from one verse to the next.

1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem. He called for the elders of Israel, and for their leaders, and for their judges, and for their officers. And they came and stood before God.

2Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'Long ago your fathers lived on the other side of the River. Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, lived there, and they served other gods.'"

3"'I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River. I led him through all the land of Canaan, and I gave him many children after him, and I gave him Isaac.'"

4"'To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave mount Seir to be his own, but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.'"

5"'I also sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with plagues by what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.'"

6"'I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red sea.'"

7"'When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea over them and covered them. Your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.'"

8"'I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of Jordan. They fought against you, and I gave them into your hand, so that you took their land. I destroyed them before you.'"

9"'Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and made war against Israel. He sent for Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.'"

10"'But I would not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I saved you out of his hand.'"

11"'You went over Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, and so did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand.'"

12"'I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove them out before you, even the two kings of the Amorites. It was not by your sword or by your bow.'"

13"'I have given you a land you did not work for, and cities you did not build, and you live in them. You eat from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.'"

14"Now then, fear the LORD and serve him with a true and honest heart. Put away the gods your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD."

15"And if it seems wrong to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve: the gods your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

16The people answered, "May it never be that we should leave the LORD to serve other gods."

17"For the LORD our God is the one who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He did those great signs before our eyes. He kept us safe all along the way we went, and among all the peoples we passed through."

18"And the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

19Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins."

20"If you leave the LORD and serve strange gods, then he will turn and bring harm on you and destroy you, after he has been good to you."

21And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD."

22Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."

23"Now then," he said, "put away the strange gods that are among you, and turn your heart to the LORD God of Israel."

24And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God, and we will obey his voice."

25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day. He set down for them a law and a rule at Shechem.

26Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God. He took a great stone and set it up there under an oak, beside the holy place of the LORD.

27Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke to us. So it will be a witness against you, in case you deny your God."

28So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own share of the land.

29After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died. He was a hundred and ten years old.

30They buried him on the edge of his own land at Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

31Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived on after Joshua, and who had known all the works of the LORD that he had done for Israel.

32The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the piece of ground that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. It became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill that belonged to Phinehas his son, which had been given to him in mount Ephraim.

You are readingSimple English

Explanation

Joshua 24

In short

Joshua calls Israel together at the end of his life to remind them of all God has done for them, from Abraham onward, and challenges them to choose whether they will serve the LORD or turn to other gods. The people promise to serve the LORD alone, and Joshua marks this covenant with a stone and written record.

Context

Joshua is now old and near the end of his life, after Israel has conquered Canaan and settled the land. He gathers the leaders and all the people at Shechem to give them a farewell address. He speaks on God's behalf, recounting the entire history of Israel from Abraham to the present moment to show the people what the LORD has done for them.

What the text says

Joshua recounts God's acts: calling Abraham from beyond the river (verse 3), giving him Isaac (verse 3), giving Isaac both Jacob and Esau (verse 4), sending Moses and Aaron and striking Egypt (verse 5), bringing Israel out through the Red Sea with darkness covering the Egyptians (verse 6-7), giving them the land of the Amorites (verse 8), preventing Balaam from cursing them (verses 9-10), delivering the seven Canaanite nations at Jericho (verse 11), and driving them out without Israel needing to fight (verse 12). He notes Israel received land and cities they did not build and crops they did not plant (verse 13).

Joshua then commands them to serve the LORD in sincerity, abandon their fathers' old gods, and makes a personal declaration: "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (verse 15). The people agree (verses 16-18). Joshua warns them that the LORD is holy and jealous and will not forgive if they abandon him (verses 19-20). The people confirm their choice (verse 21). Joshua makes a formal covenant, writes it in the book of the law, and sets up a stone witness at Shechem (verses 25-26).

The passage ends with Joshua's death at 110 (verse 29), Israel's faithfulness continuing through the elders' lifetime (verse 31), and the burial of Joseph's bones at Shechem (verse 32).

Takeaways

  • Joshua calls Israel to decide based on history: what God has already done shows who deserves their loyalty.
  • Serving God truly requires putting away competing loyalties and accepting the cost of a jealous God's demands.
  • Physical memorials and written records preserve covenant promises for future generations.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.

Need words for what you are living?

Describe it and receive a prayer written for you, with verses to hold on to.

Write a prayer