² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ^(A)‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of ^[a]the River in old times; and ^(B)they served other gods.

⁸ And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, ^(A)and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. ⁹ Then ^(B)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and ^(C)sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ^10 (D)But I would not listen to Balaam; ^(E)therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹ Then ^(F)you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And ^(G)the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. ^12 (H)I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but ^(I)not with your sword or with your bow. ¹³ I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and ^(J)cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

^14 (K)“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in ^(L)sincerity and in truth, and ^(M)put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of ^[a]the River and ^(N)in Egypt. Serve the Lord! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, ^(O)choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether ^(P)the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of ^[b]the River, or ^(Q)the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. ^(R)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”