Joshua 22

1 Then Joshua summoned the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Then did Joshua call the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Menasseh,

2 He told them, “You have done everything that Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you to do, and you have followed all the commands I gave you.

And he said unto them, Ye have indeed kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and ye have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:

3 You have never abandoned your brothers all this time, right up to the present day. You have carefully followed what the Lord your God ordered you to do.

Ye have not forsaken your brethren these many days, until this day; but ye have kept the obligation of the commandment of the Lord your God.

4 Now that the Lord your God has given peace to your brothers, as he promised, go back home to your land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you on the other side of the Jordan.

And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them; therefore now turn yourselves, and get you unto your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave unto you on the other side of the Jordan.

5 But make sure you keep the commandments and the law as Moses instructed you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his ways, keep his commandments, stay close to him, and serve him with your whole being.”

Only take diligent heed to practise the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord hath commanded you, to love the Lord 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 Joshua blessed them, sent them on their way, and they went home.

And Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went unto their tents.

7 Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh the land of Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua had given land west of the Jordan. Joshua blessed them and sent them home.

Now to the one half of the tribe of Menasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan; but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua with their brethren on this side of the Jordan westward; and when Joshua sent them also away unto their tents, he blessed them;

8 He told them, “Take all the wealth you have gained back home: the great herds of livestock, the things made of gold, silver, copper, and iron, the huge quantity of clothes. Share all this plunder with your brothers.”

And he said unto them, as followeth, With much riches return unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with copper, and with iron, and with very many garments: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

9 So the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the rest of the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and went home to their land in Gilead that they had received at the Lord's command through Moses.

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Menasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel from Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gil'ad, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the order of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

10 When they approached the Jordan region, still in the land of Canaan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built a large and impressive altar beside the Jordan River.

And when they came unto the districts of the Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Menasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar for a show.

11 The Israelites were told, “Look, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the Jordan region of the land of Canaan, on the side belonging to the Israelities.”

And the children of Israel heard, as followeth, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Menasseh have built an altar in the front of the land of Canaan, in the districts of the Jordan, at the side belonging to the children of Israel.

12 The Israelites gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.

And when the children of Israel heard it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.

13 Before they did so, they sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead.

And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Menasseh, into the land of Gil'ad, Phinehas the son of Elazar the priest.

14 Ten leaders went with him, one from each of the ten tribes of Israel, and each the head of his family.

And ten princes with him, one prince each for every division of all the tribes of Israel; and each one was a head of their family divisions among the thousands of Israel.

15 After they arrived they told the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Menasseh, unto the land of Gil'ad, and they spoke with them, saying:

16 “This is what all of the Lord's people say, ‘What is this disloyal act you have committed against the God of Israel by building an altar for yourselves? How could you turn away from him now in such rebellion?

Thus have said the whole congregation of the Lord, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have built yourselves an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord?

17 Wasn't our sin at Peor enough? Even now we're still not clean from the plague that attacked the Lord's people.

Have we had too little in the iniquity of Peor, —from which we are not yet cleansed until this day, —when there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord?

18 So why are you turning away from the Lord now? If you rebel against the Lord today, he will be angry with all of us tomorrow!

And will ye turn away this day from following the Lord? and it will be, that when ye will rebel this day against the Lord, tomorrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

19 But if you think your land is tainted then come over to the land of the Lord where the Tabernacle of the Lord is located and share some of our land with us. Just don't rebel against the Lord, or against us, by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God.

But, notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein dwelleth the tabernacle of the Lord, and take possession in the midst of us; but rebel not against the Lord and against us do not rebel, in building yourselves an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God.

20 When Achan, son of Zerah, acted disloyally in taking consecrated things, didn't the whole of Israel suffer punishment? He wasn't the only one who died because of his sin!”

Did not 'Achan the son of Zerach commit a trespass on the devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and he, though but one man, perished not alone in his iniquity.

21 Then the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the Israelite leaders,

But the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Menasseh answered, and they spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

22 “The Lord is God of gods, the Lord is God of gods, and he knows! May Israel also know! If we're in rebellion against God or being disloyal to him then kill us right now!

The God of gods, the Eternal, the God of gods, the Eternal, he knoweth, and Israel also shall know: if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the Lord, [aid us not this day, ]

23 If our action of building an altar was to turn away from the Lord, or to use the altar to make burnt offerings or grain offerings or friendship offerings, then may the Lord punish us.

That we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meat-offering, or if to offer thereon peace-offerings, may the Lord himself require it;

24 We did this because we were worried that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you got to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

Or whether we have not done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might say unto our children, as followeth, What have ye to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

25 The Lord put a border—the Jordan River—between us and you, descendants of Reuben and Gad. You don't belong to the Lord.’ So your descendants might stop our descendants from worshiping the Lord.

For the Lord hath made a boundary between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad, —the Jordan; ye have no part in the Lord: thus might your children make our children cease so as not to fear the Lord.

26 So we said to ourselves, ‘Let's build an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices,

Wherefore we said, Let us now act for ourselves to build this altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice;

27 but as a witness between us and you, and for the generations that come after us, that we will come to worship the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and friendship offerings.’ Then your descendants will not be able to say to ours in the future, ‘You don't belong to the Lord.’

But it shall be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our, peace-offerings; and that your children may not say in time to come to our children, Ye have no portion in the Lord.

28 If they were to do so in the future, our descendants could reply, ‘Look at this copy of the Lord's altar which our forefathers made, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’

And we said, that it shall be! when they should say this to us and to our generations in time to come, that we may say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.

29 We would never think to rebel against the Lord or to turn away from him now by building an altar to make burnt offerings or grain offerings or sacrifices. The only altar of the Lord our God is the one stands in front of his Tabernacle.”

Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for meat-offering, or for sacrifice, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before his dwelling.

30 When Phinehas and the Israelite leaders heard this from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh they were delighted.

And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Menasseh had spoken, it was pleasing in their eyes.

31 Phinehas replied to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us because you have not acted disloyally in doing this. Now you have saved the Israelites from being punished by the Lord.”

And Phinehas the son of Elazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Menasseh, This day do we know that the Lord is in our midst, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord: now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.

32 Then Phinehas and the Israelite leaders left the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and returned to the land of Canaan to explain the situation to the Israelites.

And Phinehas the son of Elazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gil'ad, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and they brought them word again.

33 The Israelites were pleased with the report and God blessed them. They didn't talk about going to war any more to destroy the land where the tribes of Reuben and Gad were living.

And the thing was pleasing in the eyes of the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God; and they did not speak any more to go up against them to battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

34 The tribes of Reuben and Gad called the altar, “Witness,” because they said, “It is a witness between us that the Lord is also our God.”

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar [“'Ed”]; for [they said] it is a witness between us that the Eternal is God.