Add parallel Print Page Options

22 Derpå lod Josua Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme kalde til sig og sagde til dem: "I har holdt alt, hvad Herrens Tjener Moses bød eder, og adlydt mig i alt, hvad jeg har påbudt eder. I har ikke svigtet eders Brødre i denne lange Tid; indtil denne Dag har I holdt Herren eders Guds Bud. Men nu har Herren eders Gud skaffet eders Brødre Ro, som han lovede dem; vend derfor nu tilbage til eders Telte i det Land, hvor eders Ejendom ligger, som Herrens Tjener Moses gav eder hinsides Jordan. Kun må I omhyggeligt agte på at holde det Bud og den Lov, Herrens Tjener Moses pålagde eder, at elske Herren eders Gud, vandre på alle hans Veje, holde hans Bud, holde fast ved ham og tjene ham af hele eders Hjerte og hele eders Sjæl!" Og Josua velsignede dem og lod dem drage bort, og de begav sig til deres Telte. Den ene Halvdel af Manasses Stamme havde Moses givet Land i Basan, den anden Halvdel derimod havde Josua givet Land sammen med deres Brødre i Landet vesten for Jordan. Og da Josua lod dem drage hver til sit efter at have velsignet dem, vendte de tilbage til deres Telte med store Rigdomme, med Kvæg i Mængde, med Sølv og Guld, Kobber og Jern og Klæder i stor Mængde; og det Bytte, de havde taget fra deres Fjender, delte de med deres Brødre.

Så forlod Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme Israeliterne i Silo i Kana'ans Land og vendte tilbage til Gilead, det Land, de havde fået i Eje, hvor de havde nedsat sig i Følge Herrens Bud ved Moses;' 10 og da Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme kom til Gelilot ved Jordan i Kana'ans Land, byggede de et Alter der ved Jordan, et stort Alter. der sås viden om. 11 Men det kom Israeliterne for Øre, at Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme havde bygget et Alter på Grænsen af Kana'ans Land, ved Gelilot ved Jordan, på Israeliternes Side. 12 Og da Israeliterne hørte det, samledes hele Israeliternes Menighed i Silo for at drage i Kamp imod dem. 13 Da sendte Israeliterne Pinehas, Præsten Eleazars Søn, til Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme i Gilead 14 tillige med ti Øverster, een Øverste for hver af alle Israels Stammer; hver af dem var Overhoved for sin Stamme iblandt Israels Tusinder; 15 og da de kom til Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme i Gilead, talte de således til dem: 16 "Således siger hele Herrens Menighed: Hvad er det for en Troløshed, I har begået mod Israels Gud, at I i Dag har vendt eder fra Herren ved at bygge eder et Alter og vise Genstridighed mod Herren? 17 Har vi ikke nok i Brøden med Peor, som vi endnu den Dag i Dag ikke har fået os renset for, og for hvis Skyld der kom Plage over Israels Menighed? 18 Og dog vender I eder i Dag fra Herren! Når I i Dag er genstridige mod Herren, vil hans Vrede i Morgen bryde løs over hele Israels Menighed. 19 Hvis det Land, I har fået i Eje, er urent, så gå over til det Land, der er Herrens Ejendom, der, hvor Herrens Bolig står, og nedsæt eder iblandt os; men vær ikke genstridige mod Herren, ej heller mod os ved at bygge eder et Alter til foruden Herren vor Guds Alter! 20 Dengang Akan, Zeras Søn, øvede Svig med det bandlyste, kom der da ikke Vrede over hele Israels Menighed, skønt han kun var en enkelt Mand? Måtte han ikke dø for sin Brøde?"

21 Da svarede Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme overhovederne for Israels Tusinder således: 22 "Gud, Gud Herren, Gud, Gud Herren ved det, og Israel skal vide det: Hvis det er i Genstridighed eller Troløshed mod Herren, i den Hensigt at vende os fra Herren, 23 at vi har bygget os et Alter, gid han så må unddrage os sin Hjælp i Dag! Hvis det er for at bringe Brændofre og Afgrødeofre derpå eller for at bringe Takofre derpå, så straffe Herren det! 24 Nej, vi har gjort det af Frygt for det Tilfælde, at eders Børn engang i Fremtiden skulde sige til vore: Hvad har I med Herren, Israels Gud, at gøre? 25 Herren har jo sat Jordan som Grænse imellem os, og eder, Rubeniter og Gaditer; I har ingen Del i Herren! Og således kunde eders Børn få vore til at høre op med at frygte Herren. 26 Derfor tænkte vi: Lad os bygge dette Alter, ikke til Brændoffer eller Slagtoffer, 27 men for at det kan være Vidne mellem os og eder og mellem vore Efterkommere efter os om, at vi vil forrette Herrens Tjeneste' for hans Åsyn med vore Brændofre, Slagtofre og Takofre, for at eders Børn ikke engang i Fremtiden skal sige til vore: I har ingen Del i Herren! 28 Og vi tænkte: Hvis de i Fremtiden siger således til os og vore Efterkommere, så siger vi: Læg dog Mærke til, hvorledes det Herrens Alter er bygget, som vore Forfædre rejste, ikke til Brændofre eller Slagtofre, men for at det kunne være Vidne mellem os og eder. 29 Det være langt fra os at være genstridige mod Herren eller vende os fra Herren i Dag ved at bygge et Alter til Brændoffer, Afgrødeoffer og Slagtoffer foruden Herren vor Guds Alter, som står foran hans Bolig!"

30 Da Præsten Pinehas og Menighedens Øverster og Overhovederne for Israels Tusinder, som ledsagede ham, hørte de Ord, som Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manassiterne talte, var de tilfredse, 31 og Pinehas, Præsten Eleazars Søn, sagde til Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manassiterne: "I Dag erkender vi, at Herren er iblandt os, siden I ikke har øvet denne Svig imod Herren; derved har I frelst Israeliterne fra Herrens Hånd!" 32 Derpå vendte Pinehas, Præsten Eleazars Søn, og Øversteme tilbage fra Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme i Gilead til Israeliterne i Kana'ans Land og aflagde dem Beretning, 33 og Israeliterne var tilfredse ved Meddelelsen, og Israeliterne priste Gud og tænkte ikke mere på at drage i Kamp mod dem for at ødelægge det Land, Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme boede i. 34 Og Rubeniterne, Gaditerne og Manasses halve Stamme kaldte Alteret: Vidne; "thi," sagde de, "det skal være Vidne mellem os om, at Herren er Gud!"

The Two and a Half Tribes Return Home

22 Joshua held a meeting with the men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, and he told them:

2-3 (A) You have obeyed every command of the Lord your God and of his servant Moses. And you have done everything I've told you to do. It's taken a long time, but you have stayed and helped your relatives. The Lord promised to give peace to your relatives, and that's what he has done. Now it's time for you to go back to your own homes in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan River.

Moses taught you to love the Lord your God, to be faithful to him, and to worship and obey him with your whole heart and with all your strength. So be very careful to do everything Moses commanded.

6-9 You've become rich from what you've taken from your enemies. You have big herds of cattle, lots of silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and plenty of clothes. Take everything home with you and share with the people of your tribe.

I pray that God will be kind to you. You are now free to go home.

The tribes of Reuben and Gad started back to Gilead, their own land. Moses had given the land of Bashan to the East Manasseh tribe, so they started back along with Reuben and Gad. God had told Moses that these two and a half tribes should conquer Gilead and Bashan, and they had done so.

Joshua had given land west of the Jordan River to the other half of the Manasseh tribe, so they stayed at Shiloh in the land of Canaan with the rest of the Israelites.

10-11 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh reached the western side of the Jordan River valley[a] and built a huge altar there beside the river.

When the rest of the Israelites heard what these tribes had done,[b] 12 the Israelite men met at Shiloh to get ready to attack the two and a half tribes. 13 But first they sent a priest, Phinehas the son of Eleazar, to talk with the two and a half tribes. 14 Each of the ten tribes at Shiloh sent the leader of one of its families along with Phinehas.

15 Phinehas and these leaders went to Gilead and met with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. They said:

16 (B) All of the Lord's people have gathered together and have sent us to find out why you are unfaithful to our God. You have turned your backs on the Lord by building that altar. Why are you rebelling against him? 17 (C) Wasn't our people's sin at Peor[c] terrible enough for you? The Lord punished us by sending a horrible sickness that killed many of us, and we still suffer because of that sin.[d] 18 Now you are turning your backs on the Lord again.

If you don't stop rebelling against the Lord at once, he will be angry with the whole nation. 19 If you don't think your land is a fit place to serve God, then move across the Jordan and live with us in the Lord's own land, where his sacred tent is located. But don't rebel against the Lord our God or against us by building another altar besides the Lord's own altar.[e] 20 (D) Don't you remember what happened when Achan was unfaithful[f] and took some of the things that belonged to God? This made God angry with the entire nation. Achan died because he sinned, but he also caused the death of many others.

21 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh answered:

22 The Lord is the greatest God! We ask him to be our witness, because he knows whether or not we were rebellious or unfaithful when we built that altar. If we were unfaithful, then we pray that God won't rescue us today. Let us tell you why we built that altar, 23 and we ask the Lord to punish us if we are lying. We didn't build it so we could turn our backs on the Lord. We didn't even build it so we could offer animal or grain sacrifices to please the Lord or ask his blessing.

24-25 We built that altar because we were worried. Someday your descendants might tell our descendants, “The Lord made the Jordan River the boundary between us Israelites and you people of Reuben and Gad. The Lord is Israel's God, but you're not part of Israel, so you can't take part in worshiping the Lord.”

Your descendants might say that and try to make our descendants stop worshiping and obeying the Lord. 26 That's why we decided to build the altar. It isn't for offering sacrifices, not even sacrifices to please the Lord.[g] 27-29 To build another altar for offering sacrifices would be the same as turning our backs on the Lord and rebelling against him. We could never do that! No, we built the altar to remind us and you and the generations to come that we will worship the Lord. And so we will keep bringing our sacrifices to the Lord's altar, there in front of his sacred tent. Now your descendants will never be able to say to our descendants, “You can't worship the Lord.”

But if they do say this, our descendants can answer back, “Look at this altar our ancestors built! It's like the Lord's altar, but it isn't for offering sacrifices. It's here to remind us and you that we belong to the Lord, just as much as you do.”

30-31 Phinehas and the clan leaders were pleased when they heard the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh explain why they had built the altar. Then Phinehas told them, “Today we know that the Lord is helping us. You have not been unfaithful to him, and this means that the Lord will not be angry with us.”

32 Phinehas and the clan leaders left Gilead and went back to Canaan to tell the Israelites about their meeting with the Reuben and Gad tribes. 33 The Israelites were happy and praised God. There was no more talk about going to war and wiping out the tribes of Reuben and Gad.

34 The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “A Reminder to Us All That the Lord Is Our God.”[h]

Footnotes

  1. 22.10,11 western … valley: Or “the town of Geliloth, which is in the land of Canaan near the Jordan River.”
  2. 22.10,11 built a huge altar … tribes had done: According to Deuteronomy 12.5-14, the Lord wanted the Israelites to have only one altar for offering sacrifices. To build another altar would be to disobey the Lord.
  3. 22.17 our people's sin at Peor: See Numbers 25.
  4. 22.17 we still … sin: Or “There are still people in Israel who want to worship other gods.”
  5. 22.19 or against … altar: Or “by building another altar besides the Lord's own altar. That would even make us into rebels along with you.”
  6. 22.20 Achan was unfaithful: See 7.1,26.
  7. 22.26 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 8.30-32.
  8. 22.34 named … God: Or “gave a name to the altar. They explained, ‘This altar is here to remind us all that the Lord is our God’ ”; most Hebrew manuscripts. A few Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation “named the altar ‘Reminder.’ They explained, ‘This altar is here to remind us all that the Lord is our God.’ ”

Eastern tribes go home

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. He said to them, “You obeyed everything that Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you. You have also obeyed me in everything that I have commanded you. During these many years, you never once deserted your fellow Israelites. You faithfully obeyed the command of the Lord your God. The Lord your God has now given rest to your fellow Israelites, exactly as he promised them. So turn around and go back home. Go to the land where you hold property, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on the other side of the Jordan. Just be very careful to carry out the commandment and Instruction that Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you. Love the Lord your God. Walk in all his ways and obey his commandments. Hold on to him and serve him with all your heart and being.” Then Joshua blessed them. He sent them away, and they went home.

Moses had provided for half of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. But Joshua provided for the other half on the west side of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites. When he sent them back home, Joshua also blessed them. He said to them, “Return home with great wealth and many cattle, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil taken from your enemies among your own people.”

Disagreement about an altar

So the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh went back. They left the Israelites at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. They went to the land of Gilead, to the land that they owned. They had settled there at the Lord’s command given by Moses. 10 They came to the districts[a] of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan. The people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, an altar that appeared to be immense. 11 Then the Israelites heard a report: “Look. The people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the far edge of the land of Canaan. It lies in the districts of the Jordan on the Israelite side!” 12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go up to war against them.

13 Then the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. 14 They sent with him ten leaders, one leader from each important family among the tribes of Israel. Each was the head of an important family among the military units of Israel. 15 They came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and spoke with them. 16 They said, “Here is what the Lord’s entire community says: ‘What’s this disrespectful thing that you’ve done to the God of Israel? Today you’ve turned away from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar as an act of rebellion against the Lord. 17 Wasn’t the offense of Peor enough for us? Even today we still haven’t cleansed ourselves from that sin, when there was a plague on the Lord’s community! 18 Today you are turning away from following the Lord. If you rebel against the Lord today, he will be angry with the entire community of Israel tomorrow. 19 If your own property is unclean land, then cross over into the land of the Lord’s property and settle among us. That’s where the dwelling of the Lord stands. But don’t rebel against the Lord. And don’t involve us in rebellion[b] by building an altar for yourselves other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Didn’t Achan, Zerah’s son, do such a disrespectful thing with the items reserved for God? Wrath came on the entire community of Israel. And he wasn’t the only one to die for his crime.’”

21 Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the military units of Israel: 22 “The Lord is God of gods! The Lord is God of gods! He already knows, and now let Israel also know it! If we acted in rebellion or in disrespect against the Lord, don’t spare us today. 23 If we’ve built ourselves an altar to turn away from following the Lord or to offer on it an entirely burned offering or gift offering, or to perform well-being sacrifices on it, let the Lord himself seek punishment. 24 No! The truth is we did this out of concern for what might happen. In the future your children might say to our children, ‘What have you got to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has set the Jordan as a border between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have no portion in the Lord!’ So your children might make our children stop worshipping the Lord. 26 As a result we said, ‘Let’s protect ourselves by building an altar. It isn’t to be for an entirely burned offering or for sacrifice.’ 27 But it is to be a witness between us and you and between our descendants after us. It witnesses that we too perform the service of the Lord in his presence through our entirely burned offerings, sacrifices, and well-being offerings. So in the future your children could never say to our children, ‘You have no portion in the Lord.’ 28 We thought, If in the future they ever say this to us or to our descendants, we could say, ‘Look at this replica of the altar of the Lord that our ancestors made. It isn’t for entirely burned offerings or for sacrifice but to be a witness between us and you.’ 29 God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away today from following the Lord by building an altar for an entirely burned offering, gift offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his dwelling!”

30 Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the community, and the heads of the military units of Israel who were with him heard the words that the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh spoke and approved them. 31 So Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you haven’t done a disrespectful thing against the Lord. Now you’ve delivered the Israelites from the power of the Lord.” 32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and came back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan. They brought word back to them. 33 The Israelites agreed and blessed God. They no longer spoke of going to war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and Gad were living. 34 The people of Reuben and Gad referred to the altar in this way: “It is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 22:10 Heb Geliloth
  2. Joshua 22:19 Or rebel against us

Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 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. 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. 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) 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)

Then Joshua blessed(I) them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. (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) 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.”

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

  1. Joshua 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.