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Joshua 22
New International Reader's Version
Joshua 22
New International Reader's Version
The Eastern Tribes Return Home
22 Joshua sent for the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. 2 He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded. You have also obeyed everything I commanded. 3 For a long time now you haven’t deserted the other Israelites. Instead, you have done what the Lord your God sent you to do. You have obeyed him right up to this day. 4 Now the Lord your God has given the other tribes peace and rest. That’s what he promised to do. So return to your homes. They are in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you. It’s on the east side of the Jordan River. 5 Be very careful to obey the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you. He commanded you to love the Lord your God. He told you to live exactly as the Lord wants you to. He told you to obey the Lord’s commands. He told you to remain faithful to the Lord. And he told you to serve the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6 Joshua gave the eastern tribes his blessing. Then he sent them home. So they went. 7 Moses had given land in Bashan to half of the tribe of Manasseh. Joshua had given land to the other half of the tribe. He had given it to them along with the other tribes on the west side of the Jordan River. When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them. 8 He said, “Return to your homes. Take your great wealth with you. Return with your large herds of livestock. Take your silver, gold, bronze and iron with you. Return with all the extra clothes you acquired. Divide up the things you have taken from your enemies. Share them with your people.”
9 So the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh went home. They left the other Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan. They returned to Gilead. That was their own land. They had acquired it according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
10 The tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh came to Geliloth. It was near the Jordan River in the land of Canaan. They built a large altar there by the Jordan. 11 The rest of the Israelites heard that the eastern tribes had built the altar. They heard that it had been built on the border of Canaan at Geliloth. It was near the Jordan River on the west side. 12 So the whole community of Israel gathered together at Shiloh. They decided to go to war against the eastern tribes.
13 The Israelites sent Phinehas the priest to the land of Gilead. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. They sent him to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. 14 They sent ten of their leaders with him. There was one from each of the tribes of Israel. Each man was the leader of a family group among the larger family groups of Israel.
15 Those leaders went to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Those tribes were in the land of Gilead. The leaders said to them, 16 “We’re speaking for the Lord’s whole community. How could you disobey the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord? How could you disobey him by building an altar for yourselves? 17 Don’t you remember how we sinned at Peor? The Lord struck us with a plague because of what we did. Up to this day we’re still suffering because of that sin. 18 Are you turning away from the Lord now?
“Suppose you disobey the Lord today. If you do, he’ll be angry with the whole community of Israel tomorrow. 19 If your own land is ‘unclean,’ come over to the Lord’s land. It’s where his holy tent stands. Share our land with us. But don’t disobey the Lord. Don’t turn against us by building an altar for yourselves. Don’t build any altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Remember what happened to Achan, the son of Zerah. Achan wasn’t faithful to the Lord. He took the things that had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. Didn’t the whole community of Israel experience the Lord’s anger? Achan wasn’t the only one who died because of his sin.”
21 Then the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh replied. They answered the leaders of the family groups of Israel. 22 They said, “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And we want Israel to know! Have we opposed the Lord? Have we refused to obey him? If we have, don’t spare us today. 23 Have we built our own altar so we can turn away from the Lord? Have we built it to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it? Have we built it to sacrifice friendship offerings on it? If we have, may the Lord himself hold us accountable.
24 “No! We built it because we were afraid. Someday your children might speak to our children. We were afraid they might say, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord? What do you have to do with the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has made the Jordan River a border between us and you. You people of Reuben! You people of Gad! You don’t have anything to do with the Lord.’ If your children say that, they might cause our children to stop worshiping the Lord.
26 “That’s why we said to ourselves, ‘Let’s get ready and build an altar. But let’s not build it to offer burnt offerings or sacrifices on it.’ 27 So just the opposite is true. The altar will be a witness between us and you. It will be a witness between our children and yours after us. It will also be a witness that we will worship the Lord at his sacred tent. We’ll worship him there with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and friendship offerings. Then in days to come your children won’t be able to say to ours, ‘You don’t have anything to do with the Lord.’
28 “So we said to ourselves, ‘Suppose they say that to us sometime. Or suppose they say it to our children after us. Then we’ll answer, “Look at this altar. It’s exactly like the Lord’s altar. Our people built it. They didn’t build it to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices on it. Instead, they built it to be a witness between us and you.” ’
29 “We would never refuse to obey the Lord. We would never turn away from him now. We wouldn’t build an altar to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices on it. We wouldn’t use any altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. That altar stands in front of his holy tent.”
30 Phinehas the priest heard what the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say. The leaders of the family groups of the community of Israel heard it too. All of them were pleased with what they heard. 31 Phinehas the priest spoke to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. He said, “Today we know that the Lord is with us. That’s because you have been faithful to him in this matter. Now you have saved the Israelites from the Lord’s anger against them.”
32 Then Phinehas the priest, the son of Eleazar, returned to Canaan. So did the leaders. All of them went back from their meeting with the tribes of Reuben and Gad in Gilead. They brought a report back to the Israelites. 33 The people were glad to hear the report. They praised God. They didn’t talk anymore about going to war against the eastern tribes. And they didn’t talk anymore about destroying the country where the tribes of Reuben and Gad lived.
34 The tribes of Reuben and Gad gave the altar a name. They called it A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.
Joshua 22
New International Version
Joshua 22
New International Version
Eastern Tribes Return Home
22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded,(A) and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. 3 For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. 4 Now that the Lord your God has given them rest(B) as he promised, return to your homes(C) in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.(D) 5 But be very careful to keep the commandment(E) and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord(F) your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands,(G) to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.(H)”
6 Then Joshua blessed(I) them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. 7 (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan,(J) and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side(K) of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,(L) 8 saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock,(M) with silver, gold, bronze and iron,(N) and a great quantity of clothing—and divide(O) the plunder(P) from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.”
9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh(Q) in Canaan to return to Gilead,(R) their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.
10 When they came to Geliloth(S) near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar(T) there by the Jordan. 11 And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, 12 the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh(U) to go to war against them.
13 So the Israelites sent Phinehas(V) son of Eleazar,(W) the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14 With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.(X)
15 When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: 16 “The whole assembly of the Lord says: ‘How could you break faith(Y) with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion(Z) against him now? 17 Was not the sin of Peor(AA) enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! 18 And are you now turning away from the Lord?
“‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community(AB) of Israel. 19 If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle(AC) stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar(AD) for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things,[a](AE) did not wrath(AF) come on the whole community(AG) of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’”(AH)
21 Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: 22 “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God,(AI) the Lord!(AJ) He knows!(AK) And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. 23 If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings,(AL) or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.(AM)
24 “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.
26 “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ 27 On the contrary, it is to be a witness(AN) between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.(AO) Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’
28 “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness(AP) between us and you.’
29 “Far be it from us to rebel(AQ) against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.(AR)”
30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 31 And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us,(AS) because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.”
32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites.(AT) 33 They were glad to hear the report and praised God.(AU) And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.
34 And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness(AV) Between Us—that the Lord is God.
Footnotes
- Joshua 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Joshua 22
Complete Jewish Bible
Joshua 22
Complete Jewish Bible
22 Then Y’hoshua called the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M’nasheh, 2 and said to them, “You have done everything Moshe the servant of Adonai ordered you to do and heeded what I said in all the orders I gave you. 3 All this time you have not abandoned your kinsmen but have obeyed your commission, as Adonai your God ordered. 4 Now Adonai your God has given rest to your kinsmen, as he told them he would. So you too, return to your tents in the land which is your possession, which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave you beyond the Yarden. 5 Only take great care to obey the mitzvah and the Torah which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave you — to love Adonai your God, follow all his ways, observe his mitzvot, cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and being.” 6 Then Y’hoshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7 (To the one half-tribe of M’nasheh, Moshe had given an inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half, Y’hoshua gave one among their kinsmen on the west side of the Yarden.) When Y’hoshua sent them away to their tents he blessed them, 8 saying, “Return with great riches to your tents — with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with great quantities of clothing; share the spoil of your enemies with your kinsmen.”
9 So the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh returned; they left the people of Isra’el in Shiloh, in the land of Kena‘an, to go to the land of Gil‘ad, to the land they were to possess and which they already did possess — according to the order of Adonai through Moshe. 10 When the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe arrived in the area of the land of Kena‘an near the Yarden, they built an altar there by the Yarden, a large, impressive altar. 11 The people of Isra’el heard of it and said, “Look! The descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have built an altar by the frontier of the land of Kena‘an, in the area by the Yarden, on the side that belongs to the people of Isra’el.”
12 When the people of Isra’el heard of it, the entire community of Isra’el gathered together in Shiloh to wage war against them. 13 The people of Isra’el sent Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen into the land of Gil‘ad to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh. 14 With him were ten leaders, one leader of an ancestral clan for each of the tribes of Isra’el; each one was a head of his ancestral clan among the thousands of Isra’el. 15 They came to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh in the land of Gil‘ad and spoke with them; they said, 16 “Here is what the whole community of Adonai is saying: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Isra’el, turning away today from following Adonai, in that you have built yourselves an altar, thus rebelling today against Adonai? 17 Is the guilt we incurred at P‘or not enough for us? We haven’t cleansed ourselves from it to this day, even though a plague came on the community of Adonai. 18 Is this why you have to turn away today from following Adonai? If you rebel against Adonai today, he will be angry tomorrow with the whole community of Isra’el. 19 If the land you have taken possession of is unclean, then cross back over into the land which belongs to Adonai, where the tabernacle of Adonai is located, and take a possession among us. But don’t rebel against Adonai, and don’t rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of Adonai our God. 20 Didn’t Achan the son of Zerach commit a sin in regard to things set aside for destruction, and God’s anger fell on the whole community of Isra’el? He was not the only one who died for his crime.’”
21 Then the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh answered the leaders of the thousands of Isra’el: 22 “The Mighty One, God, is Adonai! He knows, and Isra’el will know — if we acted in rebellion or treachery against Adonai, don’t vindicate us today! 23 We haven’t built an altar in order to turn away from following Adonai or to offer on it burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices as peace offerings. If we have, let Adonai himself require us to atone for it. 24 Rather, we did this out of anxiety, because we thought, ‘Sometime in the future, your descendants might say to our descendants, “You don’t have anything to do with Adonai, the God of Isra’el, 25 because Adonai made the Yarden the border between us and you, so you descendants of Re’uven and Gad have no share in Adonai.”’ In this way your descendants could make our descendants stop fearing Adonai. 26 So we said, ‘Let us now make preparations and build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, 27 but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations who will come after us, so that we may perform the service for Adonai in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and peace offerings — so that your descendants will not say to our descendants at some future time, “You have no share in Adonai.”’ 28 For this reason we said, ‘When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, “Look! Here is a replica of the altar of Adonai which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.”’ 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against Adonai and turn away today from following Adonai by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices other than the altar of Adonai our God which stands in front of his tabernacle!”
30 When Pinchas the cohen and the leaders of the community, the heads of the thousands of Isra’el who were with him, heard what the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M’nasheh said, it satisfied them. 31 Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen said to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M’nasheh, “Today we know that Adonai is here with us, because you have not committed this treasonous act against Adonai. Now you have saved the people of Isra’el from the anger of Adonai.” 32 So Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen and the leaders returned from the descendants of Re’uven and Gad, from the land of Gil‘ad to the land of Kena‘an and the people of Isra’el, bringing word back to them. 33 What they said satisfied the people of Isra’el. The people of Isra’el blessed God and said no more about going to wage war against the descendants of Re’uven and Gad and destroying the land where they lived. 34 The descendants of Re’uven and Gad called the altar “‘Ed [a witness]” between us that Adonai is God.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
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