17. We know it was the Lord our God who brought our people out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. But the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out. He protected us while we traveled through other lands.
18. Then he helped us defeat the people living in these lands. He helped us defeat the Amorites who lived here. So we will continue to serve the Lord because he is our God.”
19. Then Joshua said, “You will not be able to serve the Lord well enough. He is a holy God. And he is a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you.
20. If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause great trouble to come to you. The Lord has been good to you. But if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”
21. But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22. Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you here. 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’s true! We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”
23. Then Joshua said, “Now 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. On that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made the agreement a law for them to follow. This happened at Shechem.
26. Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he found a large stone. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord’s Holy Tent.
27. Then Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will help you remember what we did today. It was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. It will help you remember what happened. It will stop you from turning against your God.”
28. Then Joshua told the people to go back to their homes. And everyone went back to his own land.
29. After that, Joshua son of Nun died. He was 110 years old.