¹⁴ “But if you do not obey me and observe all these commands— ¹⁵ if you reject my statutes and despise my ordinances, and do not observe all my commands—and break my covenant, ¹⁶ then I will do this to you: I will bring terror^(A) on you—wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ I will turn^[a] against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you.^(B)

¹⁸ “But if after these things you will not obey me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins.^{(C) 19} I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, ²⁰ and your strength will be used up for nothing.^(D) Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.

²¹ “If you act with hostility toward me and are unwilling to obey me, I will multiply your plagues seven times for your sins.^{(E) 22} I will send wild animals against you that will deprive you of your children, ravage your livestock, and reduce your numbers until your roads are deserted.^(F)

²³ “If in spite of these things you do not accept my discipline, but act with hostility toward me, ²⁴ then I will act with hostility toward you; I also will strike you seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will bring a sword against you^(G) to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a pestilence among you, and you will be delivered into enemy hands. ²⁶ When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and ration out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.^(H)

²⁷ “And if in spite of this you do not obey me but act with hostility toward me, ²⁸ I will act with furious hostility toward you; I will also discipline you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons; you will eat the flesh of your daughters.^{(I) 30} I will destroy your high places, cut down your shrines,^[b] and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless bodies of your idols;^(J) I will reject you. ³¹ I will reduce your cities to ruins and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.^{(K) 32} I also will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to live there will be appalled by it. ³³ But I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword to chase after you. So your land will become desolate, and your cities will become ruins.

The Covenant Renewal

¹⁴ “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth.^(A) Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped^(B) beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. ¹⁵ But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship—the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living?^(C) As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”

¹⁶ The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! ¹⁷ For the Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery,^(D) and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. ¹⁸ The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God;^(E) he will not forgive your transgressions and sins.^{(F) 20} If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy^(G) you, after he has been good to you.”

²¹ “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”

²² Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.”

“We are witnesses,” they said.

²³ “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

²⁴ So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.”

²⁵ On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. ²⁶ Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God;^(H) he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak at the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us,^(I) for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.”