Joshua 22

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

At the same time Josue called the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses,

2 and said unto them, Ye, have observed all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, —and have hearkened unto my voice, in all that I commanded you:

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,

3 ye have not forsaken your brethren, these many days, unto this day, —but have kept the charge of the commandment of Yahweh your God.

Neither have you left your brethren this long time, until this present day, keeping the commandment of the Lord your God.

4 Now, therefore, that Yahweh your God hath given rest unto your brethren, according as he spake unto them, —now, therefore, turn ye and get you to your homes within the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave unto you, over the Jordan.

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:

5 Only, take ye diligent heed, to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you—to love Yahweh 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.

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.

6 So Joshua blessed them, —and sent them away, and they took their journey unto their homes.

And Josue blessed them, and sent them away, and they returned to their dwellings.

7 Now, unto the [one] half tribe of Manesseh, had Moses given a possession in Bashan, and, unto the [other] half, did Joshua give possession with their brethren, over the Jordan, westward, —moreover also, when Joshua sent them away unto their homes, he blessed them,

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,

8 and spake unto them, saying—With much wealth, return ye unto your homes, even with very much cattle, with silver and with gold, and with copper and with iron, and with very much raiment, —divide ye the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

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.

9 So the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. returned and departed from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh, which was in the land of Canaan, —to go unto the land of Gilead, unto the land of their possession, wherein they had received their possessions, at the bidding of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

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.

10 And, when they came into the circles of the Jordan, which were in the land of Canaan, —then did the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh build there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of large dimensions,

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.

11 And the sons of Israel heard say, —Lo! the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in front of the land of Canaan, in the circles of the Jordan, in the region opposite the sons of Israel.

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:

12 And, when the sons of Israel heard, all the assembly of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.

They all assembled in Silo, to go up and fight against them.

13 And the sons of Israel sent unto the sons of Reuben and unto the sons of Gad and unto the half tribe of Manasseh, within the land of Gilead, —Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest;

And in the mean time they sent to them into the land of Galaad, Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest,

14 and ten princes with him, one prince of an ancestral house for each of the tribes of Israel, —they being, severally heads of their ancestral houses, among the thousands of Israel.

And ten princes with him, one of every tribe.

15 So they came in unto the sons of Reuben and unto the sons of Gad and unto the half tribe of Manasseh, within the land of Gilead, —and spake with them, saying:

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:

16 Thus, say all the assembly of Yahweh—What is this act of treachery which ye have committed against the God of Israel, that ye should turn back, to-day, from following Yahweh, —in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel, to-day, against Yahweh?

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?

17 Too little for us, was the iniquity of Peor, from which we have not cleansed ourselves, unto this day, —although the plague came upon the assembly of Yahweh;

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.

18 but that, ye, must turn back to-day from following Yahweh, —though it must needs be that, if, ye, rebel to-day against Yahweh, then, to-morrow, with all the assembly of Israel, will he be wroth?

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

19 Howbeit, if, unclean, be the land of your possession, do ye on your part come over into the land of the possession of Yahweh, where abideth the habitation of Yahweh, and take your possession in our midst, —but, against Yahweh, do not rebel, nor, against us, rebel, by building yourselves an altar apart from the altar of Yahweh our God.

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.

20 Did not, Achan son of Zerah, commit an act of treachery, with a devoted thing, and, upon all the assembly of Israel, came wrath, —so that not, he—one man alone, died in his iniquity.

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.

21 Then responded the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, —and spake unto the heads of the thousands of Israel:

And the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses answered the princes of the embassage of Israel:

22 El-Elohim-Yahweh, El-Elohim-Yahweh, he knoweth, and, Israel, he, shall know, —if in rebellion, or if in treachery, against Yahweh, do not save us this day:

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:

23 that we should build for ourselves an altar, to turn back from following Yahweh, —or, if that we might cause to go up thereon ascending-sacrifice or meal-offering, or if that we might offer thereon peace-offerings, let Yahweh himself require it;

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:

24 if, indeed, we have not, rather, out of anxiety and of purpose, done this thing, saying, —. In time to come, your sons might speak to our sons, saying, What have ye to do with Yahweh, God of Israel;

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?

25 seeing that, a boundary, hath Yahweh put between us and you, ye sons of Reuben and ye sons of Gad—even the Jordan, ye have no portion in Yahweh, —so might your sons cause our sons, to cease from revering Yahweh.

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,

26 We said, therefore, Let us prepare, we pray you, to build us an altar, —not for ascending-offering, nor for sacrifice;

And said: Let us build us an altar, not for holocausts, nor to offer victims,

27 but that, a witness, it may be between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we are to do the service of Yahweh, before him, with our ascending-offerings and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, —that your sons may not say, in time to come, to our sons, Ye have no portion in Yahweh.

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.

28 Therefore said we, And it shall be, when they [so] say to us, or to our generations, in time to come, —that we will say—Behold ye the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for ascending-offerings nor for sacrifice, but that, a witness, it might be between us and you.

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.

29 Far be it from us—that we should rebel against Yahweh, or turn back, to-day, from following Yahweh, by building an altar, for ascending-offering, or meal-offering or for sacrifice, —other than the altar of Yahweh our God, which is before his habitation.

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.

30 And, when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the assembly, even the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spake, then was it well-pleasing in their eyes.

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.

31 And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said unto the sons of Reuben and unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Manasseh—To-day, we know that, in our midst, is Yahweh, in that ye have not committed, against Yahweh, this act of treachery, —now, have ye rescued the sons of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh.

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.

32 So Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the princes returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, unto the sons of Israel, —and brought them back word.

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.

33 And the thing was well-pleasing in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God, —and spake not of going up against them, to war, to lay waste the land, wherein the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad dwelt.

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.

34 So the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad named the altar [a Witness]: A witness, it is between us, That, Yahweh, is God.

And the children of Ruben, and the children of Cad called the altar which they had built, Our testimony, that the Lord is God.