And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.
And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it: and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof: and afterward I brought you out.
And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea.
And when they cried out unto Jehovah, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days.
And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;
but I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
And ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.
And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not labored, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell therein; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye Jehovah.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods;
for Jehovah our God, he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of {Hebrew: bondmen.}bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed;
and Jehovah drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land: therefore we also will serve Jehovah; for he is our God.
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins.
If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah.
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you Jehovah, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Now therefore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto Jehovah, the God of Israel.
And the people said unto Joshua, Jehovah our God will we serve, and unto his voice will we hearken.
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was {Or, in}by the sanctuary of Jehovah.
And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of Jehovah which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.
So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance.
And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old.
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Jehovah, that he had wrought for Israel.
And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in {Or, Gibeah of Phinehas}the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.
Querverweise zu Josua 24,10 Jos 24,10
Behold, the people that is come out of Egypt, it covereth the {Hebrew: eye.}face of the earth: now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.
And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah my God, to do less or more.
Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what Jehovah will speak unto me more.
And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men are come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do.
And the angel of Jehovah said unto Balaam, Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.
And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
And Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
And he returned unto him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab.
And he took up his parable, and said,From Aram hath Balak brought me,The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:Come, curse me Jacob,And come, {Hebrew: be worth against.}defy Israel.
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?
For from the top of the rocks I see him,And from the hills I behold him:Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone,And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob, {Hebrew: Or, by number, the &c.}Or number the fourth part of Israel?Let {Hebrew: my soul.}me die the death of the righteous,And let my last end be like his!
And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah putteth in my mouth?
And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder.
And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.
And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Jehovah spoken?
And he took up his parable, and said,Rise up, Balak, and hear;Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
God is not a man, that he should lie,Neither the son of man, that he should repent:Hath he said, and will he not do it?Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?
Behold, I have received commandment to bless:And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob;Neither hath he seen {Or, trouble}perverseness in Israel:Jehovah his God is with him,And the shout of a king is among them.
God bringeth them forth out of Egypt;He hath as it were the {Or, horns}strength of the {Or, ox-antelope Hebrew: reem.}wild-ox.
Surely there is no enchantment {Or, against}with Jacob;Neither is there any divination {Or, against}with Israel: {Or, At the due season}Now shall it be {Or, told to…what God hath wrought}said of Jacob and of Israel,What hath God wrought!
Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness,And as a lion doth he lift himself up:He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,And drink the blood of the slain.
And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaketh, that I must do?
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,Thy tabernacles, O Israel!
As valleys are they spread forth,As gardens by the river-side,As lign-aloes which Jehovah hath planted,As cedar-trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets,And his seed shall be in many waters,And his king shall be higher than Agag,And his kingdom shall be exalted.
God bringeth him forth out of Egypt;He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox:He shall eat up the nations his adversaries,And shall break their bones in pieces,And smite them through with his arrows.
He couched, he lay down as a lion,And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?Blessed be every one that blesseth thee,And cursed be every one that curseth thee.
And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, and {Or, their righteousness is of me}their righteousness which is of me, saith Jehovah.