Joshua 22

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

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

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 said to 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 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 left your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Jehovah 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 Jehovah your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them. Therefore now turn ye, and get you to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you beyond 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 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 cling to 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.

So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away, and they went to 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-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave among their brothers beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover when Joshua sent them away to 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 spoke to them, saying, Return with much wealth to 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 brothers.

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 sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the sons 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, of which they were possessed, according to the commandment of Jehovah by 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 to the region about the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar to look upon.

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 sons of Israel heard say, Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons 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 sons of Israel.

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

And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered 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 sons of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead,

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

and with him ten rulers, one ruler of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel. And they were each man of them head of their fathers' houses 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 to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, 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 says the whole congregation of Jehovah, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following Jehovah, in that ye have built for you an altar, to rebel this day against Jehovah?

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

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

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!

that ye must turn away this day from following Jehovah? And it will be, seeing ye rebel today against Jehovah, that tomorrow he will be angry 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.

However, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass ye over to the land of the possession of Jehovah, in which Jehovah's tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us, but do not rebel against Jehovah, nor rebel against us, in building for you an altar besides the altar of Jehovah 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 Zerah commit a trespass in what was set apart, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.

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

Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to 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 Mighty One, God, Jehovah, the Mighty One, God, Jehovah, he knows, and Israel he shall know, if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Jehovah (do not save us 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 Jehovah, or if to offer burnt offering or meal offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, let Jehovah 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?

and if we have not rather out of carefulness done this, from purpose, saying, In time to come your sons might speak to our sons, saying, What have ye to do with Jehovah, 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 Jehovah has made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye sons of Reuben and sons of Gad. Ye have no portion in Jehovah. So your sons might make our sons cease from fearing Jehovah.

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

Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an 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 between our generations after us, that we may do the service of Jehovah before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings, that your sons may not say to our sons in time to come, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.

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.’

Therefore we said, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, 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 Jehovah, and turn away this day from following Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God that is before his tabernacle.

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 rulers of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.

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 Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we know that Jehovah is in the midst of us, because ye have not committed this trespass against Jehovah. Now ye have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.

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 Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and 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 pleased the sons of Israel. And the sons of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of 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 sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness. For, they said, it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.