1 ¶ Then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

2 a nd said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the slave of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.

And said to them, You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.

3 Y e have not left your brethren these many days unto this day but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.

You have not deserted your brethren these many days to this day but have carefully kept the charge of the Lord your God.

4 A nd now the LORD your God has given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them; therefore now return and go to your tents and unto the land of your possessions which Moses the slave of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.

But now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; so now go, return to your homes in the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the side of the Jordan.

5 O nly that with diligence ye keep yourselves doing the commandment and the law, which Moses, the slave 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.

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 cling to and unite with Him and to serve Him with all your heart and soul.

6 S o Joshua, blessing them, sent them; and they went unto their tents.

So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes.

7 N ow to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given possession in Bashan; but unto the other half Joshua gave inheritance among their brethren on this side of the Jordan to the west. And Joshua also sent these to their tents, after having blessed them,

Now to one-half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave a possession on the west side of the Jordan among their brethren. So when Joshua sent them away to their homes, he blessed them,

8 A nd he spoke unto them, saying, Return with great riches unto your tents and with a great amount of cattle with silver, with gold, with brass, with iron, and with very much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

And he said to them, Return with much riches to your tents and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

9 A nd the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, departing from the sons 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, of which they were the possessors, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

So the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had been given possession by the command of the Lord through Moses.

10 ¶ And when they came unto the borders of the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar there next to the Jordan, a great altar to look upon.

And when they came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar great to behold.

11 A nd the sons of Israel heard it said, Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel.

And the Israelites heard it said, Behold, the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the edge of the land of Canaan in the region of the Jordan in the passage, the Israelites.

12 A nd when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.

When the Israelites heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war on them.

13 A nd the sons of Israel sent unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest,

And the Israelites sent to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest,

14 a nd with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.

And with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel; and each one was a head of a father’s house among the clans of Israel.

15 A nd they came unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,

And they came to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them,

16 T hus 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 built an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?

The whole congregation of the Lord says, What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that you have built yourselves an altar to rebel this day against the Lord?

17 I s the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, for which there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD?

Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed even now, although there came a plague in the congregation of the Lord,

18 A nd ye turn away this day from following the LORD; and it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

That you must turn away this day from following the Lord? The result will be, since you rebel today against the Lord, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

19 I f the land of your possession seems unto you to be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, in which the LORD’s tabernacle dwells and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the LORD our God.

But now, if your land is unclean, pass over into the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle resides, and take for yourselves a possession among us. But do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God.

20 P eradventure did Achan, the son of Zerah, not commit a trespass in the anathema, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.

Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass in the matter of taking accursed things and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone in his perversity and iniquity.

21 ¶ Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

Then the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said to the heads of the clans of Israel,

22 T he LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knows and let Israel also know; if it is in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD (save us not this day)

The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows, and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in transgression against the Lord, spare us not today.

23 t hat we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD or if to offer thereon burnt offering or present or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;

If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if we did so to offer on it burnt offerings or cereal offerings or peace offerings, may the Lord Himself take vengeance.

24 l ikewise, if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, Peradventure tomorrow your children shall speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?

No! But we did it for 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 T he LORD has put the Jordan for a border between us and you, O sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD, so shall your sons make our sons cease from fearing the LORD.

For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites; you have no part in the Lord. So your children might make our children cease from fearing the Lord.

26 T herefore we said, Let us now work to build us an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice,

So we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice,

27 b ut that it may be a witness between us and you and our generations after us, to 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.

But to be a witness between us and you and between the generations after us, that we will perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings; lest your children say to our children in time to come, You have no portion in the Lord.

28 T herefore we said, that it shall be, if they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may reply, 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.

So we thought, if that should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we can reply, Behold the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices, but to be a witness between us and you.

29 L et it never happen that we should rebel against the LORD or that we should turn today from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for presents, or for sacrifices, in addition to the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.

Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord to build an altar for burnt offerings, for cereal offerings, or for sacrifices, besides 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 who were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.

And when Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation and heads of the clans of Israel who were with him heard the words that the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites spoke, it pleased them.

31 A nd Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us because ye have not intended to trespass against the LORD. Now ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the wrath of the LORD.

Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites, Today we know the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this trespass and treachery against the Lord; now you have saved the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.

32 A nd Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel and brought them word again.

Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the chiefs returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the Israelites, and brought back word to them.

33 A nd the thing pleased the sons of Israel; and the sons of Israel blessed God and did not speak again of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

The report pleased the Israelites and they blessed God; and they spoke no more of going to war against them to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites dwelt.

34 A nd the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Ed; for it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.

The Reubenites and Gadites called the altar Ed, saying, It shall be: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.