Joshua 22

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

In the same time, Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the one half tribe of Manasseh.

2 and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of YHWH commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.

And he said to them: “You have done all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, instructed you. You have also obeyed me in all things.

3 You have not left your brothers these many days to this day, but have performed the duty of the commandment of YHWH your God.

Neither have you forsaken your brothers during this long time, even to the present day, keeping the orders of the Lord your God.

4 Now YHWH your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them. Therefore now return and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of YHWH gave you beyond the Jordan.

Therefore, since the Lord your God has given your brothers peace and quiet, just as he promised: return, and go into your tents and into the land of your possession, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, delivered to you beyond the Jordan.

5 Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of YHWH commanded you, to love YHWH your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

And may you continue to observe attentively, and to work to fulfill, the commandment and the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, instructed to you, so that you may love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commandments, and cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went to their tents.

And Joshua blessed them, and he sent them away. And they returned to their tents.

7 Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half gave Joshua among their brothers beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,

Now to the one half tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a possession in Bashan. And therefore, to the one half that was left over, Joshua gave a lot among the remainder of their brothers across the Jordan, in the western region. And when he had blessed them and dismissed them to their tents,

8 and spoke to them, saying, "Return with much wealth to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers."

he said to them: “Return to your settlements with much substance and wealth, with silver and gold, brass and iron, and a multitude of garments. Divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.”

9 The descendants of Reuben and the descendants 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 land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they owned, according to the commandment of YHWH by Moses.

And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the one half tribe of Manasseh returned, and they went away from the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is situated in Canaan, so that they might enter into Gilead, the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the order of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.

10 When they came to the region about the Jordan, that is in the land of Canaan, the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar to look at.

And when they had arrived at the hills of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, they built an altar of immense magnitude beside the Jordan.

11 The children of Israel heard this, "Look, the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertains to the children of Israel."

And when the sons of Israel had heard of it, and certain messengers had reported to them that the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh had built an altar in the land of Canaan, upon the hills of the Jordan, facing the sons of Israel,

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

they all assembled at Shiloh, so that they might go up and battle against them.

13 The children of Israel sent to the descendants of Reuben, and to the descendants of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,

And in the interim, they sent to them, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the priest,

14 and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and every one of them heads of ancestral houses among the thousands of Israel.

and ten leaders with him, one from each tribe.

15 They came to the descendants of Reuben, and to the descendants of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,

And they went to the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them:

16 "Thus says the whole congregation of YHWH, 'What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following YHWH, in that you have built you an altar, to rebel this day against YHWH?

“All the people of the Lord declare this: What is this transgression? Why have you forsaken the Lord, the God of Israel, by building a sacrilegious altar, and by withdrawing from the worship of him?

17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although there came a plague on the congregation of YHWH,

Is it a small thing to you that you have sinned with Baal of Peor, and that the stain of that crime continues among us, even to the present day? And many of the people have fallen.

18 that you must turn away this day from following YHWH? It will be, seeing that you rebel today against YHWH, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

And yet you have forsaken the Lord today, and tomorrow his wrath will rage against all of Israel.

19 However, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass over to the land of the possession of YHWH, in which YHWH's tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against YHWH, nor rebel against us, in building an altar other than the altar of YHWH our God.

But if you consider the land of your possession to be unclean, cross over to the land in which is the tabernacle of the Lord, and live among us. But do not withdraw from the Lord, and from our fellowship, by building an altar contrary to the altar of the Lord our God.

20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? That man did not perish alone in his iniquity.'"

Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, go against the commandment of the Lord, and so his wrath was laid over all the people of Israel? And he was only one man. If only he had perished in his wickedness alone!”

21 Then the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the thousands of Israel,

And the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh responded to the leaders of the delegation from Israel:

22 "El, God, YHWH. El, God, YHWH. He knows; and Israel shall know. If it was in rebellion, or if in trespass against YHWH, do not save us this day,

“The Lord, the almighty God, the Lord, the almighty God, he knows, and also Israel will understand: If we have constructed this altar with intent of transgression, let him not preserve us, but instead punish us immediately.

23 that we have built us an altar to turn away from following YHWH; or if to offer burnt offering or meal offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings, let YHWH himself require it.

And if we have acted with a mind so that we might present upon it holocausts, and sacrifice, and victims of peace offerings, let him inquire and judge.

24 If we have not out of concern done this, and for a reason, saying, 'In time to come your descendants might speak to our descendants, saying, "What have you to do with YHWH, the God of Israel?

Instead, we have acted with this greater thought and design, that we would say: Tomorrow your sons will say to our sons: ‘What is there between you and the Lord, the God of Israel?

25 For YHWH has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad. You have no portion in YHWH."' So your children might make our children cease from fearing YHWH.

The Lord has stationed the river Jordan as the border between us and you, O sons of Reuben, O sons of Gad. And therefore, you have no part in the Lord.’ And by this occasion, your sons would turn away our sons from the fear of the Lord. And so we sought something better,

26 Therefore we said, 'Let's now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice;

and we said: Let us build us an altar, not for holocausts, and not to offer victims,

27 but it will be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of YHWH before him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings;' that your descendants may not tell our descendants in time to come, 'You have no portion in YHWH.'

but as a testimony between us and you, and between our descendants and your progeny, so that we may serve the Lord, and so that it may be our right to offer holocausts, and victims, and peace offerings, and so that tomorrow your sons may not say to our sons: ‘You have no part in the Lord.’

28 Therefore we said, 'It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, "Look the pattern of the altar of YHWH, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you."'

And if they decide to say this, they shall respond to them: ‘Behold, the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for holocausts, and not for sacrifice, but instead as a testimony between us and you.’

29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against YHWH, and turn away this day from following YHWH, to build an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of YHWH our God that is before his tabernacle."

May this wickedness be far from us, such that we would withdraw from the Lord, and would forsake his paths, by constructing an altar to offer holocausts, and sacrifices, and victims, contrary to the altar of the Lord our God, which was built before his tabernacle.”

30 When Phinehas the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.

And when Phinehas, the priest, and the leaders of the delegation who were with him, had heard this, they were pleased. And they accepted very willingly the words of the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the one half tribe of Manasseh.

31 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, to the descendants of Gad, and to the descendants of Manasseh, "Today we know that YHWH is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this trespass against YHWH. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of YHWH."

And Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, said to them: “Now we know that the Lord is with us. For you are a stranger to this transgression. And so you have freed the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”

32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders, returned from the descendants of Reuben, and from the descendants of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

And he returned with the leaders, from the sons of Reuben and of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, into the parts of Canaan, to the sons of Israel. And he reported to them.

33 The thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land in which the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad lived.

And the word pleased all who heard it. And the sons 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.

34 The descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad called the altar: "A witness between us that YHWH is God."

And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar that they had built: Our testimony that the Lord himself is God.