Joshua 22

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 Joshua then summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh	1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
2 and said to them, 'You have observed everything that Moses, servant of Yahweh, ordered you, andwhenever I have given you an order you have listened to me.	2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:
3 You have not deserted your brothers, from long ago until today, keeping the observance of thecommandment of Yahweh your God.	3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.
4 Now that Yahweh your God has granted your brothers the rest that he promised them, go back to yourtents, to the country belonging to you which Moses, servant of Yahweh, gave you on the other side of theJordan.	4 And now the LORD 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 the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan.
5 But take great care to practise the commandments and the Law which Moses, servant of Yahweh, hasgiven you: to love Yahweh your God, always to follow his paths, to keep his commandments, to be loyal to himand to serve him with al your heart and with al your soul.'	5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD 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.
6 Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went home to their tents.	6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
7 To one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a territory in Bashan; to the other half, Joshuagave another among their brothers on the west bank of the Jordan. As Joshua sent them home to their tents, heblessed them	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,
8 and said to them, 'You are going back to your tents with great wealth, with a great deal of livestock,with silver and gold, bronze and iron and great quantities of clothing; share the spoils of your enemies with yourbrothers.'	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.
9 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, leaving the Israelites atShiloh in Canaan, and made for Gilead, the territory which belonged to them as a result of Yahweh's order giventhrough Moses.	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 the LORD by the hand of Moses.
10 When they came to the stone circle by the Jordan, in Canaanite territory, the Reubenites, the Gaditesand the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there beside the Jordan, a large, imposing altar.	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.
11 This came to the ears of the Israelites. 'Look,' the word went round, 'the Reubenites, the Gadites andthe half-tribe of Manasseh have built this altar on the Canaanite side, near the stone circle by the Jordan, on theIsraelites' bank.'	11 And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the chidren 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.
12 At this news, the whole community of the Israelites mustered at Shiloh, to march against them andmake war on them.	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.
13 The Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in Gilead,	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,
14 and with him ten leading men, one man from a leading family from each of the tribes of Israel, each ofthem being head of his family in the clans of Israel.	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.
15 Having reached the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, they said this:	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,
16 'The whole community of Israel says as fol ows, "What do you mean by this infidelity, which you havecommitted against the God of Israel by now repudiating your al egiance to Yahweh, and by building yourselvesan altar with the intention now of rebel ing against Yahweh?	16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?
17 "Was the crime which we committed at Peor so slight -- although we have not managed to purifyourselves from that even now, in spite of the plague which has ravaged the community of Yahweh-	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 the LORD,
18 that you must now repudiate your al egiance to Yahweh? For since you are in rebellion against himtoday, tomorrow his anger will be aroused against the whole community of Israel.	18 But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.
19 "Is the country in which you have settled unclean? Then cross over into the country where Yahwehhas settled, there where Yahweh's Dwel ing now stands, and settle among us. But do not rebel against Yahwehor involve us in your rebel ion by building a rival altar to the altar of Yahweh our God.	19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.
20 When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful to the curse of destruction, did not the retribution comedown on the whole community of Israel, although he was only one man? Did he not have to die for his crime?" '	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.
21 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke in their turn and answered theheads of the clans of Israel:	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,
22 'The God of gods, Yahweh, the God of gods, Yahweh wel knows, and let Israel know it too: if therehas been rebellion or infidelity to Yahweh on our part, may he refuse to save us today!	22 The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)
23 And if we have built ourselves an altar with the intention of repudiating our al egiance to Yahweh andof presenting burnt offering and oblation or of offering communion sacrifices on it, may Yahweh himself call us to account for it!	23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;
24 The truth is, we have done this as a precaution: in the future, your descendants might say to ours,"What connection do you have with Yahweh, God of Israel?	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 the LORD God of Israel?
25 Has not Yahweh set the frontier of the Jordan between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites?You have no share in Yahweh." Thus, your descendants would be the cause of stopping ours from fearingYahweh.	25 For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.
26 'So we said to each other, "Let us build this altar, not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices	26 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 between our descendants after us, attesting that we toohave the right to worship Yahweh, in his presence, with our burnt offerings, our victims and our communionsacrifices. And so, in the future your descendants wil not be able to say to ours: You have no share in Yahweh."	27 But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD 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 the LORD.
28 And we furthermore said, "If ever it were to happen that they did say this either to us or to ourdescendants in the future, we should reply: Look at this structure, Yahweh's altar, made by our ancestors not forburnt offerings or other sacrifices but as a witness between us and you."	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 the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.
29 Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh or now to repudiate our allegiance to Yahweh by buildingan altar for burnt offerings or oblations or sacrifices, in rivalry with the altar of Yahweh our God that standsbefore his Dwel ing!'	29 God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.
30 When the priest Phinehas, the leaders of the community and the heads of the clans of Israel whowere with him, heard the words spoken by the Gadites, the Reubenites and the Manassehites, they approved ofthem.	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.
31 The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar then said to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites,'Today, we can see that Yahweh is among us, since you have not been unfaithful to Yahweh in this matter; thismeans that you have spared the Israelites from Yahweh's avenging hand.'	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 the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.
32 The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the leaders left the Reubenites and the Gadites and wentback from Gilead to Canaan and the Israelites, to whom they reported the answer.	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.
33 The Israelites were pleased to hear this; the Israelites gave thanks to God and spoke no more ofmarching against them to make war on them and to ravage the country inhabited by the Reubenites and theGadites.	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.
34 The Reubenites and the Gadites cal ed the altar . . . , 'Because', they said, 'it wil be a witnessbetween us that Yahweh is God.'	34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.