Joshua 22
22
The Two and a Half Tribes Return Home
1Joshua held a meeting with the men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, and he told them:
2-3 #
Nu 32.20-32; Js 1.12-15. 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. 4The 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.
5Moses 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.
6-9You'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.
10-11The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh reached the western side of the Jordan River valley#22.10,11 western … valley: Or “the town of Geliloth, which is in the land of Canaan near the Jordan River.” and built a huge altar there beside the river.
When the rest of the Israelites heard what these tribes had done,#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. 12the Israelite men met at Shiloh to get ready to attack the two and a half tribes. 13But first they sent a priest, Phinehas the son of Eleazar, to talk with the two and a half tribes. 14Each of the ten tribes at Shiloh sent the leader of one of its families along with Phinehas.
15Phinehas and these leaders went to Gilead and met with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. They said:
16 #
Dt 12.5-19. 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#Nu 25.1-9. Wasn't our people's sin at Peor#22.17 our people's sin at Peor: See Numbers 25. 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.#22.17 we still … sin: Or “There are still people in Israel who want to worship other gods.” 18Now 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. 19If 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.#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.” 20#Js 7.1-26. Don't you remember what happened when Achan was unfaithful#22.20 Achan was unfaithful: See 7.1,26. 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.
21The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh answered:
22The 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, 23and 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.
24-25We 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. 26That's why we decided to build the altar. It isn't for offering sacrifices, not even sacrifices to please the Lord.#22.26 sacrifices to please the Lord: See the note at 8.30-32. 27-29To 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.”
30-31Phinehas 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.”
32Phinehas and the clan leaders left Gilead and went back to Canaan to tell the Israelites about their meeting with the Reuben and Gad tribes. 33The Israelites were happy and praised God. There was no more talk about going to war and wiping out the tribes of Reuben and Gad.
34The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “A Reminder to Us All That the Lord Is Our God.”#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.’ ”
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Joshua 22: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Joshua 22
22
The Eastern Tribes Return
1Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2and he said to them, “You have observed all that Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded you, and you have listened#Or “you have obeyed” to my voice in all that I have commanded you; 3you have not forsaken your kinsmen#Or “brothers” these many days, up to this day, and you have observed the obligation of the command of Yahweh your God. 4So then, Yahweh your God has given rest to your kinsmen,#Or “brothers” just as he promised them; so then, turn and go to your tents to the land of your possession, which Moses Yahweh’s servant gave to you beyond the Jordan. 5Only be very careful to observe the commandment and law that Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”#Or “inner self” 6And Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7And to the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession with their kinsmen#Or “brothers” beyond the Jordan to the west; and when Joshua sent them to their tents and blessed them, 8he said to them, “Return to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, copper, iron, and with very much clothing; divide the war-booty of your enemies with your kinsmen.”#Or “brothers” 9So the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed with the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead to the land of their possession, which they had acquired according to the command of Yahweh#Literally “on the mouth of Yahweh” through the hand of Moses.
10And they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, and the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar on the Jordan, a large and imposing altar.#Literally “a large altar to appearance” 11And the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” heard it said that the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar next to the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the Israelites.#Literally “sons/children of Israel” 12When the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” heard of it, the whole congregation of the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” gathered at Shiloh to go up against them for battle. 13And the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” sent to the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the priest son of Eleazar, 14and ten leaders with him, one leader for each#Literally “one leader, one leader” family#Literally “of the house of father” from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of his family#Literally “house of their fathers” among the clans of Israel.#Or “thousands of Israel” 15They came to the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16“Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh? 17Is not the sin of Peor enough for us,#Literally “too little for us” from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh, 18that you must turn today from following Yahweh? If you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with all of the congregation of Israel; 19if, however, the land of your property is unclean, cross over to the land of Yahweh’s property, where Yahweh’s tabernacle resides,#Or “stands” and take possession among us. But you must not rebel against Yahweh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God. 20Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things,#Or “consecrated possession” and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And he alone#Literally “And he is one man that” did not perish because of his iniquity.’ ”
21And the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke with the heads of the clans#Or “thousands” of Israel, 22“Yahweh, God of gods! Yahweh, God of gods knows. And let Israel itself know, if it was in rebellion or treachery against Yahweh, do not spare us this day 23for building for ourselves an altar to turn away from Yahweh, or if it was to offer burnt offerings,#Hebrew “offering” grain offerings,#Hebrew “offering” or fellowship offerings on it, may Yahweh himself take vengeance. 24But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, ‘In the future your children may say to our children, ‘What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel?#Literally “What is to you and to Yahweh the God of Israel” 25Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben and Gad; you have no portion in Yahweh.’ So your children may put an end to our children worshiping#Or “seeing” Yahweh. 26So we said, ‘Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings#Hebrew “offering” or for sacrifices;#Hebrew “sacrifice” 27instead, it is a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, “You have no portion in Yahweh.” ’ 28And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, ‘Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors#Or “fathers” made, not for burnt offerings#Hebrew “offering” or sacrifices;#Hebrew “sacrifice” rather, it is a witness between us and you.’ 29Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh, to turn today from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt offerings,#Hebrew “offering” grain offerings,#Hebrew “offering” or sacrifices,#Hebrew “sacrifice” instead of the altar of Yahweh our God that is before his tabernacle.”
30Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the clans#Or “thousands” of Israel who were with him heard the words that the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh spoke, and they were satisfied.#Literally “it was good in their eyes” 31Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that Yahweh is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” from the hand of Yahweh.”
32And Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, and the leaders returned from the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben and Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan to the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” and they gave them their report.#Literally “they brought back a word to them” 33The report satisfied the Israelites;#Literally “The report was good in the eyes of the children of Israel” they blessed God, and they did not speak of going up for battle against them to destroy the land in which the descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben and Gad were living.#Or “dwelling” 34The descendants#Or “sons” of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, “Because,” they said, “it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God.”
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