Joshua 22:10-34
English Standard Version
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 (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.” 12 And 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.
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, (C)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and 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. 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 (E)in rebellion against the Lord? 17 Have 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, 18 that 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. 19 But 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.’”
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, (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 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 (O)take vengeance. 24 No, 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? 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 (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.”’ 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 (S)a witness between us and you.”’ 29 Far 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!”
30 When (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. 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 (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.”
32 Then 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. 33 And 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. 34 The 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.”
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Joshua 22:10-34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Memorial Altar East of the Jordan
10 When they came to the region[a] near the Jordan that lies in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of great size. 11 The Israelites heard that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the region[b] near the Jordan, across from the Israelites.(A) 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.(B)
13 Then the Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead,(C) 14 and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. 15 They came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, 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 treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away today from following the Lord, by building yourselves an altar today in rebellion against the Lord?(D) 17 Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor, from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves and for which a plague came upon the congregation of the Lord,(E) 18 that you must turn away today from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 But now, if your land is unclean, cross over into the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle now stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us; only do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us[c] by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God.(F) 20 Did not Achan son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity!”(G)
21 Then the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 “The Lord, God of gods! The Lord, God of gods! He knows, and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith toward the Lord, do not spare us today(H) 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 offerings of well-being on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance.(I) 24 No! We did it from fear that 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 Reubenites and Gadites; 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 a witness between us and you and between the generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and offerings of well-being, so that your children may never say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.” ’(J) 28 And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we could say, “Look at this copy of the altar of the Lord that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.” 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord 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!’ ”(K)
30 When the priest Phinehas and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manassites spoke, they were satisfied. 31 The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manassites, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord; now you have saved the Israelites from the hand of the Lord.”(L)
32 Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the chiefs returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the Israelites, and brought back word to them. 33 The report pleased the Israelites, and the Israelites blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them, to destroy the land where the Reubenites and the Gadites were settled.(M) 34 The Reubenites and the Gadites called the altar Witness,[d] “for,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”(N)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.