Joshua 22
1 At the same time Josue called the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses,
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
2 And said to them: You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you: you have also obeyed me in all things,
and said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, and have hearkened to my voice in all that I commanded you.
3 Neither have you left your brethren this long time, until this present day, keeping the commandment of the Lord your God.
Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, and ye have kept the charge of the commandment of Jehovah your God.
4 Therefore as the Lord your God hath given your brethren rest and peace, as he promised: return, and go to your dwellings, and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan:
And now Jehovah your God hath given rest to your brethren, as he said unto them; and now return, and get you unto your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you beyond the Jordan.
5 Yet so that you observe attentively, and in work fulfill the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you: that you love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commandments, and cleave to him, and serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul.
Only, take great heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
6 And Josue blessed them, and sent them away, and they returned to their dwellings.
And Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went to their tents.
7 Now to half the tribe of Manasses, Moses had given a possession in Basan: and therefore to the half that remained, Josue gave a lot among the rest of their brethren beyond the Jordan to the west. And when he sent them away to their dwellings and had blessed them,
And to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given [inheritance] in Bashan, and to the other half thereof had Joshua given among their brethren on this side the Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them also,
8 He said to them: With much substance and riches, you return to your settlements, with silver and gold, brass and iron, and variety of raiment: divide the prey of your enemies with your brethren.
and spoke to them, saying, Return unto your tents with much wealth and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with copper, and with iron, and with clothing, in very great quantity; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
9 So the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses returned, and parted from the children of Israel in Silo, which is in Chanaan, to go into Galaad the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, into the land of their possession, of which they had become possessed, according to the word of Jehovah through Moses.
10 And when they were come to the banks of the Jordan, in the land of Chanaan, they built an altar immensely great near the Jordan.
And they came to the districts of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan; and the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of grand appearance.
11 And when the children of Israel had heard of it, and certain messengers had brought them an account that the children of Ruben, and of Cad, and the half tribe of Manasses had built an altar in the land of Chanaan, upon the banks of the Jordan, over against the children of Israel:
And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the districts of the Jordan, separately from the children of Israel.
12 They all assembled in Silo, to go up and fight against them.
And when the children of Israel heard [of it], the whole assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.
13 And in the mean time they sent to them into the land of Galaad, Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest,
And the children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
14 And ten princes with him, one of every tribe.
and with him ten princes, of each father's house a prince, out of all the tribes of Israel; and each of them was head of a father's house, of the thousands of Israel.
15 Who came to the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses, into the land of Galaad, and said to them:
And they came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and spoke with them, saying,
16 Thus saith all the people of the Lord: What meaneth this transgression? Why have you forsaken the Lord the God of Israel, building a sacrilegious altar, and revolting from the worship of him?
Thus saith the whole assembly of Jehovah: What wickedness is this which ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following Jehovah, in that ye have built yourselves an altar, rebelling this day against Jehovah?
17 Is it a small thing to you that you sinned with Beelphegor, and the stain of that crime remaineth in us to this day? and many of the people perished.
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us? from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the assembly of Jehovah.
18 And you have forsaken the Lord today, and tomorrow his wrath will rage against all Israel.
And ye turn away this day from following Jehovah; and it will be, that since ye rebel this day against Jehovah, to-morrow he will be wroth with the whole assembly of Israel.
19 But if you think the land of your possession to be unclean, pass over to the land wherein is the tabernacle of the Lord, and dwell among us: only depart not from the Lord, and from our society, by building an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God.
Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession is unclean, come over into the land of the possession of Jehovah, where Jehovah's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession amongst us; but rebel not against Jehovah, and rebel not against us, in building for yourselves an altar besides the altar of Jehovah our God.
20 Did not Achan the son of Zare transgress the commandment of the Lord, and his wrath lay upon all the people of Israel? And he was but one man, and would to God he alone had perished in his wickedness.
Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing? and wrath fell on all the assembly of Israel, and he perished not alone in his iniquity.
21 And the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses answered the princes of the embassage of Israel:
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel,
22 The Lord the most mighty God, the Lord the most mighty God, he knoweth, and Israel also shall understand: If with the design of transgression we have set up this altar, let him not save us, but punish us immediately:
The God of gods, Jehovah, the God of gods, Jehovah, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know [it]; if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Jehovah, — save us not this day!
23 And if we did it with that mind, that we might lay upon it holocausts, and sacrifice, and victims of peace offerings, let him require and judge:
— that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn from following Jehovah, and if it is to offer up burnt-offering and oblation on it, and if to offer peace-offerings thereon, let Jehovah himself require it [from us];
24 And not rather with this thought and design, that we should say: Tomorrow your children will say to our children: What have you to do with the Lord the God of Israel?
and if we have not done it from fear of this thing, saying, In future your children will speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with Jehovah the God of Israel?
25 The Lord hath put the river Jordan for a border between us and you, O ye children of Ruben, and ye children of Gad: and therefore you have no part in the Lord. And by this occasion you children shall turn away our children from the fear of the Lord. We therefore thought, it best,
Jehovah hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad, ye have no portion in Jehovah! And so shall your children make our children cease from fearing Jehovah.
26 And said: Let us build us an altar, not for holocausts, nor to offer victims,
And we said, Let us now set to work to build an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice,
27 But for a testimony between us and you, and our posterity and yours, that we may serve the Lord, and that we may have a right to offer both holocausts, and victims and sacrifices of peace offerings: and that your children tomorrow may not say to our children: You have no part in the Lord.
but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we might do service to Jehovah before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in future, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.
28 And if they will say so, they shall answer them: Behold the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for holocausts, nor for sacrifice, but for a testimony between us and you.
And we said, If it shall be that in future they so say to us and to our generations, we will say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
29 God keep us from any such wickedness that we should revolt from the Lord, and leave off following his steps, by building an altar to offer holocausts, and sacrifices, and victims, beside the altar of the Lord our God, which is erected before his tabernacle.
Far be it from us that we should rebel against Jehovah, and turn this day from following Jehovah, in building an altar for burnt-offering, for oblation, and for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God that is before his tabernacle.
30 And when Phinees the priest, and the princes of the embassage, who were with him, had heard this, they were satisfied: and they admitted most willingly the words of the children of Ruben, and Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses.
And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the assembly and the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their sight.
31 And Phinees the priest the son of Eleazar said to them: Now we know that the Lord is with us, because you are not guilty of this revolt, and you have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the Lord.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that Jehovah is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against Jehovah: now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.
32 And he returned with the princes from the children of Ruben and Gad, out of the land of Galaad, into the land of Chanaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.
33 And the saying pleased all that heard it. And the children of Israel praised God, and they no longer said that they would go up against them, and fight, and destroy the land of their possession.
And the thing was good in the sight of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God, and no more said that they would go up in warfare against them, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt.
34 And the children of Ruben, and the children of Cad called the altar which they had built, Our testimony, that the Lord is God.
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad gave a name to the altar; for it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.
