Joshua 22

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

1Then Joshua called together the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half of the family of Manasseh.

2And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:

2He said to them, "You did everything Moses, the servant of the LORD, told you to do. You also obeyed every order I gave you.

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

3For a long time now, you have not left your brothers alone. You have done the job the LORD your God gave you.

4And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan.

4Now the LORD your God has given your brothers peace, just as he promised. So you may go home to your own land. Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you that land on the other side of the Jordan River.

5But 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 cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

5But be very careful to obey the rules and teachings Moses gave you. Love the LORD your God. Live the way he wants. Keep his commands. Stay close to him. Serve him with your whole heart and your whole self."

6So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.

6So Joshua asked God to bless them and sent them away. They went home.

7Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,

7Moses had given land in Bashan to half of the family of Manasseh. Joshua gave land to the other half, west of the Jordan River, near their brothers. When Joshua sent them home too, he blessed them.

8And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

8He said, "Go home with all your riches. Take your huge herds of animals. Take the silver, gold, bronze, iron, and all the clothes. Share what you took from your enemies with your brothers."

9And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children 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, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

9So the people of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh, a town in Canaan. They went back to Gilead, the land God had given them through Moses.

10And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

10When they reached the Jordan River, still inside Canaan, they built an altar there. An altar is a stone table for giving gifts to God. This one was very large.

NoteThe KJV says the altar was "great to see to." That means it was big and easy to spot from far away.

11And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.

11The other Israelites got word about it. People said, "Look! The people of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh built an altar at the edge of Canaan, by the Jordan River."

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

12When the Israelites heard this, they all gathered at Shiloh. They planned to go to war against those tribes.

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

13The Israelites first sent a man to the land of Gilead to talk with them. They sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest.

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

14Ten leaders went with him. One came from each tribe of Israel. Each one was the head of a large family group.

15And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,

15They came to the people of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh in Gilead. They said to them,

16Thus 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 builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?

16"All of the LORD's people ask you this. Why have you broken faith with the God of Israel? You have turned away from following the LORD today. You built your own altar. Are you fighting against the LORD?

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

17Remember our sin at Peor. We are still not clean from it, even today. That sin brought a deadly sickness on all of God's people.

18But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

18And now you are turning away from the LORD! If you fight against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with all of Israel.

19Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD’s tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.

19If your land is not fit for worship, then come over here. Come to the land that belongs to the LORD, where his holy tent stands. Take a share of land among us. But do not fight against the LORD, and do not fight against us. Do not build another altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.

20Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.

20Remember Achan, the son of Zerah. He took things that were set apart for God. God's anger fell on all of Israel. And Achan was not the only one who died for what he did."

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

21Then the people of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh answered the leaders of Israel.

22The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)

22They said, "The LORD is God! He is the greatest of all. We say it twice: the LORD is God! He knows why we did this, and Israel will know too. If we did it to fight God or to break faith with him, then do not spare us today.

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

23If we built this altar to turn away from the LORD, let God punish us himself. If we built it to burn animal gifts or grain gifts or friendship gifts on it, let him punish us.

NoteIn the KJV, a "meat offering" is not meat. It is a gift of grain, like flour or bread.

24And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?

24No, we did it because we were afraid. We thought, someday your children might say to our children, 'What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

25For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.

25The LORD made the Jordan River a line between us and you. You people of Reuben and Gad have no share in the LORD.' Then your children might stop our children from worshiping the LORD.

26Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:

26That is why we said, let us build an altar. It is not for burning gifts or for animal offerings.

27But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might 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.

27It is a sign between us and you, and for our children later on. It shows that we do worship the LORD, with our gifts and offerings. Then your children can never tell our children, 'You have no share in the LORD.'

28Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, 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.

28We said that if they ever talk that way to us or our children, we will answer. We will say, 'Look at this copy of the LORD's altar that our fathers made. It was never used for burning gifts or offerings. It is a sign between us and you.'

29God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.

29We would never fight against the LORD or turn away from him. We would never build another altar for gifts or offerings. The LORD's own altar stands in front of his holy tent, and that is the only one."

30And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them.

30Phinehas the priest and the leaders with him heard all this. What the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh said made them glad.

31And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.

31Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to them, "Today we know the LORD is with us. You did not break faith with him after all. You have kept the LORD's anger away from Israel."

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

32Then Phinehas and the leaders left Gilead. They went back to the Israelites in Canaan and told them what happened.

33And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

33The Israelites were glad to hear it. They praised God. They said no more about going to war against the land where Reuben and Gad lived.

34And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.

34The people of Reuben and Gad gave the altar a name. They called it Witness. They said, "It stands as a sign that the LORD is God."