Joshua 24:5-14

24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt down when I intervened in their land.¹ Then I brought you out. 24:6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 24:7 Your fathers² cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark,³ and then drowned them in the sea.⁴ You witnessed with your very own eyes⁵ what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time.⁶ 24:8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought with you, but I handed them over to you; you conquered⁷ their land and I destroyed them from before you. 24:9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack⁸ against Israel. He summoned⁹ Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment¹⁰ on you. 24:10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept¹¹ prophesying good things about¹² you, and I rescued you from his power.¹³ 24:11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.¹⁴ The leaders¹⁵ of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 24:12 I sent terror¹⁶ ahead of you to drive out before you the two¹⁷ Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows.¹⁸ 24:13 I gave you a land in¹⁹ which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of²⁰ vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

24:14 Now²¹ obey²² the Lord and worship²³ him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors²⁴ worshiped²⁵ beyond the Euphrates²⁶ and in Egypt and worship²⁷ the Lord.

¹tn Heb “by that which I did in its midst.”

²tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).

³tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”

⁴tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”

⁵tn Heb “your eyes saw.”

⁶tn Heb “many days.”

⁷tn Or “took possession of.”

⁸tn Heb “arose and fought.”

⁹tn Heb “sent and called.”

¹⁰tn Or “to curse.”

¹¹tn The infinitive absolute follows the finite verb in the Hebrew text and indicates continuation or repetition of the action. Balaam pronounced several oracles of blessing over Israel (see Num 23-24).

¹²tn Heb “blessing.” Balaam’s “blessings” were actually prophecies of how God would prosper Israel.

¹³tn Heb “hand.”

¹⁴map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁵tn Or perhaps, “citizens.”

¹⁶tn Traditionally, “the hornet” (so KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) but the precise meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (cf. NEB “panic”).

¹⁷tn The LXX has “twelve,” apparently understanding this as a reference to Amorite kings west of the Jordan (see Josh 5:1, rather than the trans-Jordanian Amorite kings Sihon and Og (see Josh 2:10; 9:10).

¹⁸tn Heb “and it drove them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow.” The words “I gave you the victory” are supplied for clarification.

¹⁹tn Or perhaps, “for.”

²⁰tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.

²¹sn 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).

²²tn Heb “fear.”

²³tn Or “and serve.”

²⁴tn Heb “your fathers.”

²⁵tn Or “served.”

²⁶tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

²⁷tn Or “and serve.”