17. For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18. And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
19. And Joshua said unto the people, You cannot serve the LORD: for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20. If you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after that he has done you good.
21. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
22. And Joshua said unto the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23. Now therefore put away, said he, the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
24. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
25. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
26. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.