2 Timothy 2

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Joshua then summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh	1 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites, 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 to them: "You have done all that Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you, and have obeyed every command I gave you.
3 You have not deserted your brothers, from long ago until today, keeping the observance of thecommandment of Yahweh your God.	3 For many years now you have not once abandoned your kinsmen, but have faithfully carried out the commands 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 Since, therefore, the LORD, your God, has settled your kinsmen as he promised them, you may now return to your tents beyond the Jordan; to your own land, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you.
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 be very careful to observe the precept and law which Moses, the servant of the LORD, enjoined upon you: love the LORD, your God; follow him faithfully; keep his commandments; remain loyal to him; and serve him with your whole heart and soul."
6 Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went home to their tents.	6 Joshua then blessed them and sent them away to their own 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 (For, to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had given a portion along with their kinsmen west of the Jordan.) What Joshua said to them when he sent them off to their tents with his blessing was,
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 "Now that you are returning to your own tents with great wealth, with very numerous livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and with a very large supply of clothing, divide these spoils of your enemies with your kinsmen there."
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 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and returned to the land of Gilead, their own property, which they had received according to the LORD'S command through 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 When the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, they built there at the Jordan a conspicuously large altar.
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 The other Israelites heard the report that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar in the region of the Jordan facing the land of Canaan, across from them,
12 At this news, the whole community of the Israelites mustered at Shiloh, to march against them andmake war on them.	12 and therefore they assembled their whole community at Shiloh to declare war on 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 First, however, they sent to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead an embassy consisting of Phinehas, 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 ten princes, one from every tribe of Israel, each one being both prince and military leader of his ancestral house.
15 Having reached the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, they said this:	15 When these came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, they said to them:
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 "The whole community of the LORD sends this message: What act of treachery is this you have committed against the God of Israel? You have seceded from the LORD this day, and rebelled against him by building an altar of your own!
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 For the sin of Peor, a plague came upon the community 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 We are still not free of that; must you now add to it? You are rebelling against the LORD today and by tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community 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 If you consider the land you now possess unclean, cross over to the land the LORD possesses, where the Dwelling of the LORD stands, and share that with us. But do not rebel against the LORD, nor involve us in rebellion, by building an altar of your own in addition to 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 When Achan, son of Zerah, violated the ban, did not wrath fall upon the entire community of Israel? Though he was but a single man, he did not perish alone for his guilt!"
21 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke in their turn and answered theheads of the clans of Israel:	21 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the military leaders of the Israelites: "The LORD is the God of gods.
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, the God of gods, knows and Israel shall know. If now we have acted out of rebellion or treachery against the LORD, our God,
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 and if we have built an altar of our own to secede from the LORD, or to offer holocausts, grain offerings or peace offerings upon it, the LORD himself will exact the penalty.
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 We did it rather out of our anxious concern lest in the future your children should say to our children: 'What have you to do with the LORD, the 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 has placed the Jordan as a boundary between you and us. You descendants of Reuben and Gad have no share in the LORD.' Thus your children would prevent ours from revering the LORD.
26 'So we said to each other, "Let us build this altar, not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices	26 So we decided to guard our interests by building this altar of our own: not for holocausts or for sacrifices,
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 as evidence for you on behalf of ourselves and our descendants, that we have the right to worship the LORD in his presence with our holocausts, sacrifices, and peace offerings. Now in the future your children cannot say to our children, 'You have no share 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 Our thought was, that if in the future they should speak thus to us or to our descendants, we could answer: 'Look at the model of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for holocausts or for sacrifices, but to witness between you and us.'
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 Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD or to secede now from the LORD by building an altar for holocaust, grain offering, or sacrifice in addition to the altar of the LORD, our God, which stands before his Dwelling."
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 When Phinehas the priest and the princes of the community, the military leaders of the Israelites, heard what the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites had to say, they were satisfied.
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 Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites, "Now we know that the LORD is with us. Since you have not committed this act of treachery against the LORD, you have kept the Israelites free from punishment by 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 Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan, and reported the matter to them.
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 The report satisfied the Israelites, who blessed God and decided against declaring war on the Reubenites and Gadites or ravaging the land they occupied.
34 The Reubenites and the Gadites cal ed the altar . . . , 'Because', they said, 'it wil be a witnessbetween us that Yahweh is God.'	34 The Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar its name as a witness among them that the LORD is God.