Joshua 22

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

2And he said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.”

3You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, up to this day, and you have kept the charge of the commandment of Yahweh your God.

4And now Yahweh your God has given rest to your brothers, just as he spoke to them. So now turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan.

5Only be very careful to do the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you: to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to cling to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

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

7To the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave land with their brothers beyond the Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them.

8And he said to them, “Return to your tents with great wealth, with very much livestock, with silver and gold, with bronze and iron, and with very many garments. Divide the plunder of your enemies with your brothers.”

9So 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 is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had taken possession of by the command of Yahweh through Moses.

10When they came to the region of 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—an altar great in appearance.

11And the sons of Israel heard it said, “Look, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side of the sons of Israel.”

12When the sons of Israel heard, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go up against them for war.

13Then the sons of Israel sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead.

14and with him ten leaders, one leader for each ancestral house from all the tribes of Israel; and each of them was the head of his ancestral house among the thousands of Israel.

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

16Thus says the whole congregation of Yahweh: ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away today from following Yahweh by building for yourselves an altar, rebelling today against Yahweh?’

17Was the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, and the plague came upon the congregation of Yahweh?

18And you are turning away today from following Yahweh; and if you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

19But if the land of your possession is unclean, cross over for yourselves into the land of Yahweh’s possession, where Yahweh’s tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against Yahweh, or against us, by building for yourselves an altar besides the altar of Yahweh our God.

20Was it not Achan son of Zerah who acted unfaithfully in the matter of what was devoted to destruction, and wrath came upon all the congregation of Israel? Yet he was not the only man who perished in his iniquity.

21Then the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the clans of Israel:

22The Mighty One, God, Yahweh! The Mighty One, God, Yahweh! He knows, and Israel itself will know: if it was in rebellion, or if in unfaithfulness against Yahweh, do not save us this day.

23if we built for ourselves an altar to turn away from following Yahweh, or if to offer on it burnt offering or grain offering, or if to make on it sacrifices of peace offerings, may Yahweh himself require it.

24No, rather, we did this out of anxious concern, saying, ‘In time to come your children may say to our children, “What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?”’

25For Yahweh has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, sons of Reuben and sons of Gad. You have no portion in Yahweh. And so your sons might cause our sons to stop fearing Yahweh.

26So we said, ‘Let us now build for ourselves the altar—not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice.’

27Rather, it is a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and our peace offerings, so that your children may not say to our children in time to come, ‘You have no share in the LORD.’

28So we said, ‘If they should say to us or to our generations in time to come, then we will say: “Look at the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made—not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you.”’

29Far be it from us that we should rebel against Yahweh and turn away today from following Yahweh by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, besides the altar of Yahweh our God that is before his tabernacle.

30When Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him heard the words that the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their eyes.

31And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that Yahweh is among us, because you have not acted unfaithfully against Yahweh in this matter. Then you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of Yahweh.”

32Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them.

33And the matter was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God. And they did not speak of going up against them in war to destroy the land where the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.

34And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness, for it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God.