Joshua 24:25
New International Version
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.

New Living Translation
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the LORD.

English Standard Version
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem.

Berean Standard Bible
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.

King James Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

New King James Version
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

New American Standard Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

NASB 1995
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

NASB 1977
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Legacy Standard Bible
So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and a judgment in Shechem.

Amplified Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance at Shechem.

Christian Standard Bible
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them.

American Standard Version
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Contemporary English Version
Joshua helped Israel make an agreement with the LORD that day at Shechem. Joshua made laws for Israel

English Revised Version
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
That day Joshua made an agreement for the people and set up laws and rules for them at Shechem.

Good News Translation
So Joshua made a covenant for the people that day, and there at Shechem he gave them laws and rules to follow.

International Standard Version
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, making statutes and ordinances in Shechem.

Majority Standard Bible
On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.

NET Bible
That day Joshua drew up an agreement for the people, and he established rules and regulations for them in Shechem.

New Heart English Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Webster's Bible Translation
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

World English Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Joshua makes a covenant with the people on that day, and lays a statute and an ordinance on it, in Shechem.

Young's Literal Translation
And Joshua maketh a covenant with the people on that day, and layeth on it a statute and an ordinance, in Shechem.

Smith's Literal Translation
And Joshua will cut out a covenant to the people in that day and will set to him a law and a judgment in Shechem.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Josue therefore on that day made a covenant, and set before the people commandments and judgments in Sichem.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments.

New American Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.

New Revised Standard Version
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and taught them the commandments and the ordinances in Shechem.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Yeshua covenanted a covenant with the people in that day, and he taught them the commandments and the judgments in Shekim
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
So Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and gave them a law and an ordinance in Selo before the tabernacle of the God of Israel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Choose Whom You will Serve
24So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.” 25On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance. 26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.…

Cross References
Exodus 24:3-8
When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.” / And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. / Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. ...

Deuteronomy 29:1-15
These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb. / Moses summoned all Israel and proclaimed to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land. / You saw with your own eyes the great trials, and those miraculous signs and wonders. ...

2 Kings 23:2-3
And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people small and great—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. / So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

Nehemiah 9:38
In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”

2 Chronicles 34:31-32
So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. / Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand in agreement to it. So all the people of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

1 Samuel 12:14-15
If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the LORD your God, then all will be well. / But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.

Judges 2:1-5
Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, / and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? / So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.” ...

2 Samuel 5:3
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where King David made with them a covenant before the LORD. And they anointed him king over Israel.

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. / It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. / “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. ...

Hebrews 8:6-13
Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. / For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. / But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ...

Matthew 26:28
This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 22:20
In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

Romans 9:4
the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

Galatians 3:15-17
Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended. / The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ. / What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.

Hebrews 9:15-20
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. / In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it, / because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive. ...


Treasury of Scripture

So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

made

Exodus 15:25
And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Exodus 24:3,7,8
And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do…

Deuteronomy 5:2,3
The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb…

in Shechem

Joshua 24:1,26
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God…

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Agreement Covenant Decrees Drew Joshua Laws Maketh Ordinance Ordinances Rule Shechem Statute Statutes
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Agreement Covenant Decrees Drew Joshua Laws Maketh Ordinance Ordinances Rule Shechem Statute Statutes
Joshua 24
1. Joshua assembles the tribes at Shechem
2. A brief history of God's benefits from Terah
14. He renews the covenant between them and God
26. A stone the witness of the covenant
29. Joshua's age, death, and burial
32. Joseph's bones are buried
33. Eleazar dies














On that day
This phrase signifies a specific, momentous occasion in the history of Israel. The Hebrew word for "day" is "yom," which can denote a literal 24-hour period or a significant time. Here, it marks a pivotal moment when the Israelites reaffirmed their commitment to God. Historically, this day is a culmination of Joshua's leadership and the people's journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

Joshua made a covenant
The Hebrew word for "covenant" is "berit," which implies a solemn agreement or treaty. In the ancient Near Eastern context, covenants were binding and often involved a ceremony. Joshua, as the leader, acts as a mediator between God and the people, emphasizing the seriousness of their commitment to serve the Lord. This covenant is a renewal of the one made at Sinai, reinforcing the people's identity as God's chosen nation.

for the people
This phrase highlights the communal aspect of the covenant. It was not just an agreement between God and Joshua but involved the entire nation of Israel. The Hebrew word "am" for "people" underscores the collective responsibility and unity required to uphold the covenant. This communal aspect is crucial in understanding the corporate nature of Israel's relationship with God.

and there at Shechem
Shechem holds significant historical and spiritual importance. It is the place where God first promised Abraham the land (Genesis 12:6-7) and where Jacob buried foreign gods (Genesis 35:4). By choosing Shechem, Joshua connects the people's current commitment to their ancestral heritage, reinforcing the continuity of God's promises and the people's faithfulness.

he established for them
The act of establishing indicates a formal setting in place of something enduring. The Hebrew root "qum" suggests raising or setting up, implying that Joshua is instituting something that will stand the test of time. This action underscores the permanence and seriousness of the covenant and the expectations that come with it.

a statute and an ordinance
The terms "statute" (Hebrew "choq") and "ordinance" (Hebrew "mishpat") refer to laws and decrees. "Choq" often denotes a prescribed task or boundary, while "mishpat" involves justice and judgment. Together, they represent the comprehensive nature of God's law, covering both moral and ceremonial aspects. This duality ensures that the Israelites understand their obligations in both worship and daily living, reflecting God's holiness and justice.

(25) So Joshua made a covenant--i.e., a covenant that idolatry should not be tolerated in Israel, or suffered to exist. We read of similar covenants in the reign of Asa (2Chronicles 15:12-13), in the reign of Joash, by Jehoiada (2Chronicles 23:16), and of Josiah (2Chronicles 34:31-32).

Verse 25. - So Joshua made a covenant. Literally, cut a covenant, a phrase common to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues, and derived from the custom of sacrifice, in which the victims were cut in pieces and offered to the deity invoked in ratification of the engagement. The word used for covenant, berith, is derived from another word having the same meaning. This appears more probable than the suggestion of some, that the berith is derived from the practice of ratifying an agreement by a social meal. And set them a statute and ordinance. Or, appointed them a statute and a judgment. The word translated "statute" is derived from the same root as our word hack, signifying to cut, and hence to engrave in indelible characters. The practice of engraving inscriptions, proclamations, and the like, on tablets was extremely common in the East. We have instances of it in the two tables of the law, and in the copy of the law engraven in stones on Mount Ebal. The Moabite stone is another instance. And the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian monarchs seem to have written much of their history in this way (see note on Joshua 8:32). The word rendered "ordinance" is far more frequently rendered "judgment" in our version, and seems to have the original signification of a thing set upright, as a pillar on a secure foundation. In Shechem (see note on ver. 1).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
On that
הַה֑וּא (ha·hū)
Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

day
בַּיּ֣וֹם (bay·yō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

Joshua
יְהוֹשֻׁ֧עַ (yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3091: Joshua -- 'the LORD is salvation', Moses' successor, also the name of a number of Israelites

made
וַיִּכְרֹ֨ת (way·yiḵ·rōṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3772: To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant

a covenant
בְּרִ֛ית (bə·rîṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1285: A covenant

for the people,
לָעָ֖ם (lā·‘ām)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

and there at Shechem
בִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ (biš·ḵem)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 7927: Shechem -- 'ridge', a district in Northern Palestine, also a son of Hamor

he established
וַיָּ֥שֶׂם (way·yā·śem)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

for them
ל֛וֹ (lōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

a statute
חֹ֥ק (ḥōq)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2706: Something prescribed or owed, a statute

and ordinance.
וּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט (ū·miš·pāṭ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4941: A verdict, a sentence, formal decree, divine law, penalty, justice, privilege, style


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OT History: Joshua 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 24:24
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