Joshua 22:10-34

New International Version

¹⁰When they came to Geliloth^(A) near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar^(B) there by the Jordan. ¹¹And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, ¹²the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh^(C) to go to war against them.

¹³So the Israelites sent Phinehas^(D) son of Eleazar,^(E) the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁴With 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.^(F)

¹⁵When 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^(G) with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion^(H) against him now? ¹⁷Was not the sin of Peor^(I) 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! ¹⁸And are you now turning away from the Lord?

“‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community^(J) of Israel. ¹⁹If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle^(K) stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar^(L) for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things,^[a]^(M) did not wrath^(N) come on the whole community^(O) of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’”^(P)

²¹Then 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,^(Q) the Lord!^(R) He knows!^(S) And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. ²³If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings,^(T) or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.^(U)

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? ²⁵The 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.’ ²⁷On the contrary, it is to be a witness^(V) 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.^(W) 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^(X) between us and you.’

²⁹“Far be it from us to rebel^(Y) 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.^(Z)”

³⁰When 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. ³¹And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us,^(AA) because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.”

³²Then 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.^(AB) ³³They were glad to hear the report and praised God.^(AC) And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

³⁴And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness^(AD) Between Us—that the Lord is God.

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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 22:10-34

English Standard Version

The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness

¹⁰And 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. ¹¹And the people of Israel ^(A)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.” ¹²And when the people of Israel heard of it, ^(B)the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.

¹³Then 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, ^(C)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, ^(D)every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. ¹⁵And 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 ^(E)in rebellion against the Lord? ¹⁷Have we not had enough of ^(F)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, ¹⁸that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if ^(G)you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow ^(H)he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord's land ^(I)where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. ^(J)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^(K)Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and ^(L)wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’”

²¹Then 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, ^(M)God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! ^(N)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 ²³for 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 ^(O)take vengeance. ²⁴No, but we did it from fear that ^(P)in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵For 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. ²⁶Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, ²⁷but to be ^(Q)a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we ^(R)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.”’ ²⁸And 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 ^(S)a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹Far be it from us that we should ^(T)rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord ^(U)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!”

³⁰When ^(V)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, ^(W)it was good in their eyes. ³¹And 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 ^(X)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.”

³²Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad ^(Y)in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. ³³And the report ^(Z)was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel ^(AA)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. ³⁴The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, ^(AB)“it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”