Joshua 22

1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,

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

2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of Yhwh commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:

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.

3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Yhwh your God.

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.

4 And now Yhwh your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yhwh gave you on the other side Jordan.

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.

5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of Yhwh charged you, to love Yhwh 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.

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.”

6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.

Joshua blessed them, sent them on their way, and they went home.

7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,

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.

8 And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

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.”

9 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 unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of Yhwh by the hand of Moses.

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.

10 And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

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.

11 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 borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.

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.”

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

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

13 And the children of Israel sent unto 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,

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.

14 And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.

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

15 And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,

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

16 Thus saith the whole congregation of Yhwh, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following Yhwh, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against Yhwh?

“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?

17 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 congregation of Yhwh,

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

18 But that ye must turn away this day from following Yhwh? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against Yhwh, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

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!

19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of Yhwh, wherein Yhwh's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against Yhwh, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of Yhwh our God.

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.

20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.

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!”

21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

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

22 Yhwh God of gods, Yhwh God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against Yhwh, ( save us not this day, )

“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!

23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following Yhwh, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or grain offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let Yhwh himself require it;

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.

24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with Yhwh God of Israel?

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?

25 For Yhwh hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in Yhwh: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing Yhwh.

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.

26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:

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

27 But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of Yhwh 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 time to come, Ye have no part in Yhwh.

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.’

28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of Yhwh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.

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.’

29 God forbid that we should rebel against Yhwh, and turn this day from following Yhwh, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of Yhwh our God that is before his tabernacle.

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.”

30 And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them.

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

31 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 Yhwh is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against Yhwh: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Yhwh.

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.”

32 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, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

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.

33 And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

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.

34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that Yhwh is God.

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.”