< Joshua 22 >

1 Joshua loh Reuben koca, Gad koca neh Manasseh koca hlangvang te koep a khue tih,
Joshua then summoned the leaders of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh.
2 “BOEIPA kah sal Moses lohnangmih n'uen te boeih ngaithuen uh lamtah nang kang uen boeih dongah kai ol he hnatun uh.
He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses, who served Yahweh [well], told you to do. You have also done what I told you to do.
3 Tihnin duela kum te yet na manuca rhoek te na hnoo uh pawt dongah BOEIPA na Pathen kah a kuek olpaek te na vai uh coeng.
For a long time you have helped the other tribes [to defeat their enemies]. You have obeyed everything that Yahweh your God commanded you to do.
4 Te dongah BOEIPA na Pathen loh amih taengah a thui vanbangla na manuca rhoek te a duem sak coeng. Te dongah mael uh lamtah Jordan rhalvangan ah BOEIPA kah sal Moses loh nangmih m'paek na dap, na lo, na khohut te paan uh laeh.
He promised to give peace to us Israelis, and he has done what he promised. So now you may go back to your homes, to the land that Moses gave to you, on the east side of the Jordan [River].
5 Tedae BOEIPA kah sal Moses loh nangmih ng'uen olpaek neh olkhueng rhep saii ham, BOEIPA na Pathen lungnah ham neh a longpuei cungkuem ah pongpa ham, a olpaek ngaithuen ham neh a taengah rhep hmaiben ham, amah te na thinko boeih, na hinglu boeih neh thothueng ham te khaw ngaithuen uh,” a ti nah.
Moses also commanded you to love Yahweh your God and to obey his commands, and to continue to worship him and serve him by everything that you think and everything that you do.”
6 Amih te Joshua loh yoethen a paek tih a tueih daengah amamih kah dap te a paan uh.
Then Joshua blessed them and said goodbye to them, and they [prepared to] leave and return to their homes [on the east side of the Jordan River].
7 Manasseh koca rhakthuem te Moses loh Bashan ah a phaeng coeng tih rhakthuem te tah Joshua loh khotlak Jordan rhalvangan, rhalvangan ah a pacaboeina neh hmaih a phaeng. Joshua loh amih te amamih kah dap la a tueih vaengah khaw amih te yoethen a paek bal.
Moses had given the Bashan region to half the tribe of Manasseh, and land on the west side of the Jordan [River] to the other half of the tribe. Before they left, he [asked God to] bless them.
8 Te vaengah amih te a thui pah tih, “Na dap te koeva neh a yet la boiva muep a yet nen khaw, cak nen khaw, sui nen khaw, rhohum nen khaw, thicung nen khaw, himbai nen khaw paan uh laeh. Na thunkha kah kutbuem muep aka yet te na manuca neh tael uh thae,” a ti nah.
He said, “Go back to your homes and to all the things that you have taken from your enemies—the many animals and silver and gold and [things made of] bronze and iron, and many beautiful clothes. But you should share some of those things with other people of your tribe.”
9 A mael uh vaengah Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek, Manasseh koca hlangvang loh Kanaan kho Shiloh kah Israel ca taeng lamloh nong uh tih Moses kut kah BOEIPA ol vanbangla khohut hmuen te buem ham, Gilead kho la cet uh.
So the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelis at Shiloh in Canaan land, to return to their homes in the Gilead region. That was the area that belonged to them. It had been allotted to them by Moses as Yahweh had commanded.
10 Kanaan kho kah Jordan saa te a pha vaengah Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek, Manasseh koca rhakthuem tah Jordan ah hmueihtuk a suem uh. Te hmueihtuk te a mueimae la sang.
The people from those three tribes arrived near the western side of the Jordan River, at a town called Geliloth. There they built a large altar. [Then they crossed the Jordan River to the Gilead region].
11 Tedae Israel ca rhoek loh a yaak uh vaengah Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek neh Manasseh koca rhakthuem loh Kanaan kho kah imdan, Jordan saa, Israel ca rhoek kah khongan ah hmueihtuk a suem uh ke,” a ti uh.
But the other Israelis who were still at Shiloh heard about the altar that those men had built.
12 Israel ca rhoek loh a yaak uh vaengah amih te caempuei neh paan thil ham Shiloh kah Israel ca rhaengpuei loh boeih tingtun uh.
They became very angry with the men of those tribes, so they decided to fight them.
13 Te phoeiah Israel ca rhoek loh Gilead kho kah Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek, Manasseh koca rhakthuem taengla khosoih Eleazar capa Phinekha te neh,
The Israelis sent Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar the Supreme Priest, to [talk with] the people of those three tribes.
14 Israel koca imkhui boeih kah a napa, Israel ca thawngkhat imkhui kah a lu la aka om a napa rhoek lamkah khoboei khoboei neh khoboei parha te khaw a tueih uh.
They also sent one leader from each of the ten tribes that were still at Shiloh. Each of them was a leader of his clan.
15 Te dongah Gilead kho la a kun uh vaengah Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek, Manasseh koca rhakthuem te a voek uh.
Those leaders went to the Gilead region to talk to the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. They said,
16 BOEIPA kah hlangboel boeih taengah ah, “Mebang boekoek aih lam lae Israel Pathen taengah boe na koek uh tih tihnin ah BOEIPA hnuk lamkah na balkhong uh van he? Namamih kah hmueihtuk na suem uh neh tihnin ah BOEIPA te na tloelh uh.
“All the other Israelis are asking, ‘Why have you rebelled against the God whom we Israelis [worship] by building an altar for yourselves?
17 Peor kathaesainah te mamih ham a rhoeh moenih a? Tihnin kah BOEIPA hlangboel dongah tlohthae aka om he n'caihcil mahpawt a?
Have you forgotten what happened at Peor, [when some Israelis sinned by worshiping the god that the Moab people-group worship]? Many Israelis became very sick and died because of that sin, and we are still suffering because of their sin.
18 Tihnin ah nangmih loh BOEIPA hnuk lamkah na bal uh nama. Tihnin ah BOEIPA na tloelh thil uh he thangvuen ah Israel rheangpuei pum taengah a thintoek bitni.
Are you now turning away from obeying Yahweh and refusing to do what he wants? If you do not stop rebelling against Yahweh today, he will be angry with all of us Israelis tomorrow.’
19 Na khohut diklai ni a rhalawt oeh atah BOEIPA kah dungtlungim loh a pai thil BOEIPA kah khohut diklai la ha kat uh lamtah kaimih saa dongkah he bawn uh mai saw. Tedae mamih Pathen BOEIPA kah hmueihtuk lakah namamih ham a tloe hmueihtuk na suem uh neh BOEIPA te tloelh thil uh boeh, kaimih khaw n'tloelh uh boeh.
“If [you think that Yahweh considers] that your land here is not suitable for worshiping him, come back to our land where Yahweh’s Sacred Tent is. We can share our land with you. But do not rebel against Yahweh and against us by building another altar for Yahweh our God.
20 Yaehtaboeih neh boekoeknah la boe aka koek Zerah capa Akhan moenih a? Anih kathaesainah ah a thinhul loh Israel rhaengpuei boeih a tlak thil vaengah amah bueng hlang a pal moenih ko,” a ti uh.
Do you remember what happened when Zerah’s son Achan refused to obey [Yahweh’s command to destroy everything in Jericho]? That one man disobeyed God’s command, but many [HYP] other Israelis were punished. Achan died because of his sin, but other Israelis also died.”
21 Te vaengah Israel thawngkhat kah a lu rhoek te Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek neh Manasseh koca rhakthuem loh a doo uh tih,
The [leaders of the] tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh replied,
22 “Pathen rhoek kah Pathen, pathen rhoek kah BOEIPA Pathen, Yahweh loh a ming, Israel long khaw ming saeh. BOEIPA taengah tloelhnah la om oeh tih boekoeknah la a om atah tihnin ah kaimih he n'hlun uh boeh.
“Yahweh, the Almighty God, knows [why we did that], and we want you to know, too. If we have done something wrong [against Yahweh], you may kill us.
23 BOEIPA hnuk lamloh balkhong ham hmueihtuk ka suem uh khaw, a soah khocang hmueihhlutnah ka nawn uh mai cakhaw, a soah rhoepnah hmueih ka nawn uh mai cakhaw BOEIPA amah loh thuep nawn saeh.
If we have disobeyed one of Yahweh’s laws, we request that he should punish us. We did not build that new altar to completely burn animals as sacrifices to Yahweh, or to offer on it sacrifices of grain or sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.
24 Tedae olka dongah mawnnah ham a om pawt dongah ka saii he thui sih. Thangvuen ah nangmih ca rhoek loh kaimih ca rhoek taengah a thui vetih, “Nangmih taeng neh Israel Pathen BOEIPA taengah balae a benbonah,” ti saeh.
“This is the reason that we built that altar: We were afraid/worried that some day your descendants would say that our descendants are not true Israelis. We were afraid that then they would say, ‘You are not allowed to worship Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship].
25 BOEIPA loh kaimih laklo neh nangmih laklo ah rhi a suem coeng. Reuben koca neh Gad koca, BOEIPA dongah Jordan te nangmih kah khoyo moenih. Te dongah nangmih koca loh BOEIPA aka rhih pawh kaimih ca rhoek te kangkuen sak saeh.
Yahweh caused the Jordan River to be a boundary between us and you people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. So you are not allowed to worship Yahweh.’ We were worried that your descendants would force our descendants to stop worshiping Yahweh.
26 Te dongah, “Hmueihtuk te sak ham mamih loh saii pawn sih, hmueihhlutnah ham moenih, hmueih ham moenih,” ka ti uh.
“That is the reason that we decided to build that [new] altar. But it is not an altar for completely burning sacrifices of animals and [burning other] sacrifices.
27 Te tah kaimih laklo neh nangmih laklo ah, mamih hnukkah mamih cadilcahma laklo ah laipai la om saeh. BOEIPA kah thothuengnah te a mikhmuh ah mamih kah hmueihhlutnah neh, mamih kah hmueih neh, mamih kah rhoepnah neh thothueng sih. Te daengah ni thangvuen ah na ca rhoek loh kaimih ca rhoek taengah, “BOEIPA dongah khoyo te nangmih ham moenih,” a ti uh pawt eh.
We built that new altar to prove/show to you and to us and to all of our descendants that we worship Yahweh by completely burning animal sacrifices and offerings of grain and offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh [only at the place Yahweh chooses]. We do not want your descendants to say to our descendants, ‘You do not belong to Yahweh.’
28 Thangvuen ah kaimih taeng neh n'cadilcahma rhoek taengah a thui uh atah te te ana om mai saeh ka ti uh. Te vaengah, “A pa rhoek loh BOEIPA kah hmueihtuk muei a saii uh te hmueihhlutnah ham pawt tih hmueih ham bal moenih, tedae kaimih laklo neh nangmih laklo kah laipai ni tila hmuh uh,’ ka ti uh bitni.
“In the future, if your descendants say that, our descendants can say, ‘Look at the altar that our ancestors made! It is exactly like Yahweh’s altar [that our ancestors built], but we do not burn sacrifices on it. It only shows that we are Israelis!’
29 BOEIPA te tloelh ham neh tihnin ah BOEIPA hnuk lamloh taengphael ham, a dungtlungim hmaikah mamih Pathen BOEIPA hmueihtuk phoeiah hmueihhlutnah ham, khocang ham neh hmueih ham hmueihtuk suem te kaimih nen tah savisava,” a ti uh.
We certainly do not want to rebel against Yahweh or stop doing what he desires, by building an altar for completely burning some sacrifices and burning grain offerings and making [other] sacrifices. [We know that] there is only one true altar for Yahweh our God, and it is in front of the Sacred Tent [at Shiloh].”
30 Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek neh Manasseh ca rhoek kah a thui uh ol te khosoih Phinekha neh rhaengpuei kah khoboei rhoek, anih taengah aka om Israel ca thawngkhat kah a lu loh a yaak uh vaengah a mik cop uh.
When Phinehas the priest and the other [ten] leaders heard what they said, they were pleased.
31 Te dongah Reuben ca rhoek, Gad ca rhoek, Manasseh ca rhoek te, Khosoih Eleazar capa Phinekha loh, “BOEIPA te boekoeknah la boe na koek pawt tih Israel ca rhoek te BOEIPA kut lamkah na huul uh coeng dongah BOEIPA loh mamih lakli ah om tila tihnin ah m'ming uh,” a ti nah.
So Phinehas said to them, “Now we know that Yahweh is with all of us Israelis, and that you were not rebelling against him [when you built that altar]. And we know that Yahweh will not punish us Israelis [because of your having done that].”
32 Te daengah Gilead kho kah khosoih Eleazar capa Phinekha, Reuben ca rhoek neh Gad ca rhoek lamkah khoboei rhoek te Kanaan kho kah Israel ca rhoek taengla bal uh tih olka te a khuen uh.
Then Phinehas and the Israeli leaders left the people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad in the Gilead region, and returned to Canaan. There they told the other Israelis what had happened.
33 Ol te khaw Israel ca rhoek kah mikhmuh ah a then coeng dongah Israel ca rhoek kah Pathen te a thangthen uh. Te dongah amih taengah caempuei la caeh ham, a khuikah khosa rhoek Reuben ca rhoek neh Gad ca rhoek kah khohmuen phae ham te thui uh voel pawh.
They were pleased, and they thanked God. And they did not talk any more about fighting against the people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and destroying everything in their land.
34 Hmueihtuk te khaw Reuben ca rhoek neh Gad ca rhoek loh, “Kaimih laklo ah aka om BOEIPA Pathen kah laipai ni,”tila a sak uh.
The people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad named their new altar ‘A reminder to us all that Yahweh is God’.

< Joshua 22 >