1 J oshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-family group of Manasseh.

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

2 H e said to them, “You have done all that the Lord’s servant Moses told you to do. You have obeyed me in all I have told you to do.

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 ou have not left your brothers alone even to this day. But you have been careful to do what the Lord your God has told you.

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

4 N ow the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He promised them. So go now. Return to your homes in your own land, which the Lord’s servant Moses 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 be very careful to obey the Law which the Lord’s servant Moses told you. Love the Lord your God. Walk in all His ways. Obey His Laws. Stay close to Him, and work for Him with all your heart and 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 J oshua prayed that good would come to them, and sent them away. Then they went to their homes.

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

7 M oses had given land in Bashan to the half-family group of Manasseh. But Joshua gave land west of the Jordan to the other half of the family among their brothers. Joshua prayed that good would come to them when he sent them away to their homes.

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 H e said to them, “Return to your homes with much riches, many animals, silver, gold, brass, iron, and very many clothes. Share with your brothers the riches taken from those who fought against you.”

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 T he sons of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh returned home. They left the people of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and went to their own land of Gilead. They had taken this land by the word of the Lord through 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 T he sons of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh came to the Jordan River. Before they crossed the Jordan, they built a very large altar on the Canaan side of the Jordan.

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 T he people of Israel heard the news, “See, the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh have built an altar in the land of Canaan by the Jordan. It stands on the side that belongs to the people 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 W hen the people of Israel heard about it, all the sons of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make 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 T hen the sons of Israel sent Phinehas the son of the religious leader Eleazar into the land of Gilead to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh.

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 W ith him were ten leaders, one leader from each ruling house in every family of Israel. Each one was the head of his father’s house among the families 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 T hey came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, and said to them,

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

16 “ All the people of the Lord say, ‘What sin is this that you have done against the God of Israel? You have turned away from following the Lord this day, by building yourselves an altar. Today you have gone 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 not the sin of Peor enough for us? We have made ourselves unclean from that to this day, and much trouble has come upon the people 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 N ow to add to that sin, this day you have turned away from following the Lord. If you go against the Lord today, He will be angry with all the people of Israel tomorrow.

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 N ow if the land you have been given is unclean, cross over into the Lord’s land. There stands the meeting tent of the Lord. Take land for yourselves among us. But do not go against the Lord, or against us, by building an altar other than 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 D id not Zerah’s son Achan sin by taking things that should have been destroyed? Anger came upon all the people of Israel. He did not die alone for his sin.’”

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 T hen the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh answered the leaders of the families of Israel, saying,

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

22 “ The Powerful One, the Lord, the Powerful One, God, the Lord! He knows! And may Israel itself know! If it was going against the Lord and not being faithful to Him, do not save us 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 I f we have built an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or to give burnt gifts, grain gifts or peace gifts on it, may the Lord Himself punish us.

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 W e have done this because we were afraid that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the 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 F or the Lord has put the Jordan between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have nothing to do with the Lord.’ Then your children might make our children stop worshiping 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 S o we said, ‘Let us build an altar. It will not be for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship.

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

27 B ut it will be something special to be seen between us and you and our children after us. It will show that we are to serve the Lord before Him with our burnt gifts, our gifts of animals and our peace gifts. Then your children will not say to our children in the future, “You have nothing to do with 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 W e thought that if they say this to us or our children in the future we can say, ‘See the altar we have made like the altar of the Lord which our fathers made. It is not for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. But it is something special to see 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 N ever let it be said that we went against the Lord and turned away from following the Lord this day by building an altar. It is not for burnt gifts or grain gifts or killing animals in worship. It is not to be used instead of the altar of the Lord our God before His meeting tent.”

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 P hinehas the religious leader and the leaders of the people, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, were pleased when they heard the words of the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh.

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 P hinehas the son of Eleazar the religious leader said to the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us. Because you have not done this as sin against the Lord. Now you have saved the people of Israel from the hand 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 T hen Phinehas the son of the religious leader Eleazar and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad. They returned from the land of Gilead to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. And they told them what had happened.

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 T he news pleased the people of Israel, and they gave thanks to God. They said no more about going against them in war, to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and Gad were living.

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 T he people of Reuben and Gad said, “This altar shows the agreement 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.