Joshua 22
New Catholic Bible
The Return of the Eastern Tribes and Joshua’s Farewell
Chapter 22
Dismissal of the Tribes. 1 Joshua then summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh 2 and he said to them, “You have done all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you to do, and you have obeyed me in everything. 3 For a long time now, right up to this very day, you have not deserted your brothers. You have fulfilled the task that the Lord, your God, gave you. 4 Now that the Lord, your God, has given your brothers the rest that he had promised them, you can return to your homes in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you as a possession on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Take heed to follow the commandments and the laws that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you: to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways and to observe his commandments, holding fast to him and serving him with all your heart and all your soul.”[a]
6 Joshua then blessed them and sent them away, and they returned to their homes.
7 (Moses had given Bashan to one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh, while Joshua gave the other half some land among their brothers on the western side of the Jordan.) When Joshua sent them to their homes, he blessed them 8 saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth: your numerous cattle as well as silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and your numerous garments. Divide the spoils from your enemies among your brethren.”[b]
9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, to travel to the land of Gilead, the land they were to possess. They were given possession of it by the word of the Lord through Moses.
10 The Altar across the Jordan. When they arrived at Geliloth near the Jordan, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there beside the Jordan. It was an impressive altar, something to see.
11 The Israelites then heard that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh had built an altar at Geliloth, on the border of Canaan, on the Israelite side of the Jordan. 12 The Israelites heard about this and the whole assembly of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh to go and attack them.
13 The Israelites sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. 14 With him they sent ten leaders, a leader for each of the tribes of Israel, each one the head of an ancestral clan among the divisions of Israel. 15 They came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and they said to them, 16 “Thus says the whole assembly of the Lord: What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from the Lord this day by building an altar for yourselves so that you might rebel against the Lord? 17 Is the iniquity that was committed at Peor not enough for us? We have not been fully purified from it up to the present even though there was a plague in the assembly of the Lord. 18 Why do you turn away from following the Lord today? If today you rebel against the Lord, then tomorrow his anger will rage against the whole assembly of Israel. 19 If the land in your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land in the possession of the Lord where the tabernacle of the Lord is kept. You can share it with us. Only, do not rebel against the Lord, and do not rebel against us by building an altar other than the altar to the Lord, our God. 20 When Achan, the son of Zerah, committed a sin in regard to the things that had been dedicated, did not wrath come upon the whole assembly of Israel? That man was not the only one who perished because of his sin.”
21 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh replied to the leaders of the divisions of Israel, 22 “The God of gods, the Lord! The God of gods, the Lord! He knows! Let Israel know as well! If this has been an act of rebellion or treachery against the Lord, then may we not be saved today. 23 If we have built an altar to turn away from the Lord, or to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings, or to make peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account! 24 No! We did this thing for fear that sometime in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between you and us, you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the Lord.’ Then your descendants would have caused our descendants to stop fearing the Lord. 26 This is why we said to ourselves, ‘Let us prepare for it and build an altar, but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ 27 Let it be a witness between ourselves and yourselves as well as for the generations that come after us so that we might continue in the service of the Lord, offering burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings before him. This way, in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’ 28 We said to ourselves, ‘If they ever say this to us or to our descendants in the future, we will be able to tell them to look at the copy of the Lord’s altar that was built by our fathers. It was not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but to serve as a witness between ourselves and yourselves. 29 God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from the Lord today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices in any place other than the altar to the Lord, our God, that stands in front of his tabernacle.”
30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the assembly, the leaders of the divisions of Israel, heard what the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the Manassehites said, it greatly pleased them. 31 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and to the Manassehites, “Today we are sure that the Lord is with us, for you have not acted unfaithfully against the Lord in this matter. You have now rescued the Israelites out of the hand of the Lord.”
32 Then Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the Israelites, and they brought them a report. 33 The report greatly pleased the Israelites and they praised God. The Israelites decided not to go up against the Reubenites and the Gadites to fight them and destroy the land in which they dwelt. 34 The Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A witness between us that the Lord is God.[c]
Footnotes
- Joshua 22:5 Considering that the Israelites had for so many years been preoccupied with the physical side of life, Joshua takes this opportunity to restate the need for them to make love of God and obedience to his commandments the primary focus of their lives.
- Joshua 22:8 In Joshua’s parting blessing to the tribes he reminds them to share the spoils of victory with their less fortunate brothers and sisters.
- Joshua 22:34 A witness between us that the Lord is God: the name given by the Reubenite and Gadite tribes to the altar they built to dispel any notion of friction between the people on either side of the Jordan. It was a sign to all the Israelites and to future generations that they worshiped the same God.
Joshua 22
King James Version
22 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
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 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 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 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 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
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 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 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 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 And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
Joshua 22
English Standard Version
The Eastern Tribes Return Home
22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept (A)all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you (B)and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. 4 (C)And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, (D)which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 (E)Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, (F)to love the Lord 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 So Joshua (G)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, (H)but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, 8 he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. (I)Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 9 So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go (J)to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses.
The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness
10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. 11 And the people of Israel (K)heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, (L)the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.
13 Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, (M)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, (N)every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. 15 And they came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day (O)in rebellion against the Lord? 17 Have we not had enough of (P)the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, 18 that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if (Q)you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow (R)he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord's land (S)where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. (T)Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 (U)Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and (V)wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’”
21 Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 “The Mighty One, (W)God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! (X)He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today 23 for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself (Y)take vengeance. 24 No, but we did it from fear that (Z)in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. 26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be (AA)a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we (AB)do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ 28 And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be (AC)a witness between us and you.”’ 29 Far be it from us that we should (AD)rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord (AE)by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle!”
30 When (AF)Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, (AG)it was good in their eyes. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that (AH)the Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the Lord. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”
32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad (AI)in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 And the report (AJ)was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel (AK)blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. 34 The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, (AL)“it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
