20. If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause terrible things to happen to you. He will destroy you. He has been good to you, but if you turn against him he will destroy you.”
21. Then the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22. Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you. Do you all know and agree that you have chosen to serve the Lord? Are you all witnesses to this?” The people answered, “Yes, it is true. We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”
23. Then Joshua said, “So throw away the false gods that you have among you. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”
24. Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him.”
25. So that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made this agreement at the town called Shechem. It became a law for them to follow.
26. Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he found a large stone to be the proof of this agreement. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord’S Holy Tent.
27. Then Joshua said to all the people, “This stone will help you remember what we said today. This stone was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. So this stone will be something that helps you remember what happened today. The stone will be a witness against you. It will stop you from turning against your God.”
28. Then Joshua told the people to go home. So everyone went back to his own land.
29. After that the Lord’S servant Joshua son of Nun died. He was 110 years old.
30. Joshua was buried on his own land at Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31. The Israelites served the Lord during the time Joshua was living. After Joshua died, the people continued to serve the Lord while their leaders were alive. These were the leaders who had seen what the Lord had done for Israel.