Common English Bible

Joshua 24:20-28 Common English Bible (CEB)

20. If you leave the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn around and do you harm and finish you off, in spite of having done you good in the past."

21. Then the people said to Joshua, "No! The Lord is the one we will serve."

22. So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord."They said, "We are witnesses!"

23. "So now put aside the foreign gods that are among you. Focus your hearts on the Lord, the God of Israel."

24. The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God and will obey him."

25. On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people and established just rule for them at Shechem.

26. Joshua wrote these words in God’s Instruction scroll. Then he took a large stone and put it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord.

27. Joshua said to all the people, "This stone will serve here as a witness against us, because it has heard all the Lord’s words that he spoke to us. It will serve as a witness against you in case you aren’t true to your God."

28. Then Joshua sent the people away to each one’s legacy.