Joshua 22–23

¹Then Joshua calleth for the Reubenite, and for the Gadite, and for the half of the tribe of Manasseh, ²and saith unto them, ‘Ye—ye have kept the whole of that which Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded you, and ye hearken to my voice, to all that I have commanded you; ³ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, and have kept the charge—the command of Jehovah your God.

⁴‘And, now, Jehovah your God hath given rest to your brethren, as He spake to them; and now, turn ye, and go for yourselves to your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses, servant of Jehovah, hath given to you beyond the Jordan. ⁵Only, be very watchful to do the command and the law which Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded you, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, and to cleave to Him, and to serve Him, with all your heart, and with all your soul.’ ⁶And Joshua blesseth them, and sendeth them away, and they go unto their tents. ⁷And to the half of the tribe of Manasseh hath Moses given, in Bashan, and to its other half hath Joshua given with their brethren beyond the Jordan westward; and also when Joshua hath sent them away unto their tents, then he doth bless them, ⁸and speak unto them, saying, ‘With great riches turn ye back 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.’ ⁹And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, turn back and go from the sons of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the land of Gilead, unto the land of their possession, in which they have possession, according to the command of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses.

¹⁰And they come in unto the districts of the Jordan, which are in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, build there an altar by the Jordan—a great altar for appearance. ¹¹And the sons of Israel hear, saying, ‘Lo, the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, have built the altar over-against the land of Canaan, on the districts of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel.’ ¹²And the sons of Israel hear, and all the company of the sons of Israel is assembled at Shiloh, to go up against them to war; ¹³and the sons of Israel send unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the half of the tribe of Manasseh—unto the land of Gilead—Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴and ten princes with him, one prince, one prince, for a house of a father, for all the tribes of Israel, and each of them a head of a house of their fathers, for the thousands of Israel. ¹⁵And they come in unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the half of the tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and speak with them, saying, ¹⁶‘Thus said all the company of Jehovah, What is this trespass which ye have trespassed against the God of Israel, to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, by your building for you an altar, for your rebelling to-day against Jehovah? ¹⁷Is the iniquity of Peor little to us, from which we have not been cleansed till this day—and the plague is in the company of Jehovah, ¹⁸that ye turn back to-day from after Jehovah? and it hath been—ye rebel to-day against Jehovah—and to-morrow against all the company of Israel He is wroth.

¹⁹‘And surely, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over for you unto the land of the possession of Jehovah, where the tabernacle of Jehovah hath tabernacled, and have possession in our midst; and against Jehovah rebel not, and against us rebel not, by your building for you an altar, besides the altar of Jehovah our God. ²⁰Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and on all the company of Israel there was wrath? and he alone expired not in his iniquity.’

²¹And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, answer and speak with the heads of the thousands of Israel: ²²‘The God of gods—Jehovah, the God of gods—Jehovah, He is knowing, and Israel, he doth know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Jehovah (Thou dost not save us this day!) ²³we are building for ourselves an altar to turn back from after Jehovah, and if to cause to go up on it burnt-offering and present, and if to make on it peace-offerings—Jehovah Himself doth require it.

²⁴‘And if not, from fear of this thing we have done it, saying, Hereafter your sons do speak to ours sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah God of Israel? ²⁵for a border hath Jehovah put between us and you, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad—Jordan; ye have no portion in Jehovah—and your sons have caused our sons to cease, not to fear Jehovah.

²⁶‘And we say, Pray let us prepare for ourselves to build the altar—not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice— ²⁷but a witness it is between us and you, and between our generations after us, to do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, and your sons do not say hereafter to our sons, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.

²⁸‘And we say, And it hath been, when they say so unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made—not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice—but a witness it is between us and you.

²⁹‘Far be it from us to rebel against Jehovah, and to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for present, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Jehovah our God, which is before His tabernacle.’

³⁰And Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the company, and the heads of the thousands of Israel, who are with him, hear the words which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh have spoken, and it is good in their eyes. ³¹And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest saith unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the sons of Manasseh, ‘To-day we have known that Jehovah is in our midst, because ye have not committed against Jehovah this trespass—then ye have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.’ ³²And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, turn back from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, unto the sons of Israel, and bring them back word; ³³and the thing is good in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel bless God, and have not said to go up against them to war, to destroy the land which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, are dwelling in. ³⁴And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad proclaim concerning the altar, that ‘it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.’

Chapter 23

¹And it cometh to pass, many days after that Jehovah hath given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua is old, entering into days, ²and Joshua calleth for all Israel, for its elders, and for its heads, and for its judges, and for its authorities, and saith unto them, ‘I have become old; I have entered into days; ³and ye—ye have seen all that Jehovah your God hath done to all these nations because of you, for Jehovah your God is He who is fighting for you; ⁴see, I have caused to fall to you these nations who are left for an inheritance to your tribes, from the Jordan, (and all the nations which I cut off), and the great sea, the going in of the sun.

⁵‘As to Jehovah your God, He doth thrust them from your presence, and hath dispossessed them from before you, and ye have possessed their land, as Jehovah your God hath spoken to you, ⁶and ye have been very strong to keep and to do the whole that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so as not to turn aside from it right or left, ⁷so as not to go in among these nations, these who are left with you; and of the name of their gods ye do not make mention, nor do ye swear, nor do ye serve them, nor do ye bow yourselves to them; ⁸but to Jehovah your God ye do cleave, as ye have done till this day. ⁹And Jehovah is dispossessing from before you nations great and mighty; as for you, none hath stood in your presence till this day; ¹⁰one man of you doth pursue a thousand, for Jehovah your God is He who is fighting for you, as He hath spoken to you.

¹¹And ye have been very watchful for yourselves to love Jehovah your God. ¹²‘But—if ye at all turn back and have cleaved to the remnant of these nations, these who are left with you, and intermarried with them, and gone in to them, and they to you, ¹³know certainly that Jehovah your God is not continuing to dispossess these nations from before you, and they have been to you for a gin, and for a snare, and for a scourge, in your sides, and for thorns in your eyes, till ye perish from off this good ground which Jehovah your God hath given to you.

¹⁴‘And lo, I am going, to-day, in the way of all the earth, and ye have known—with all your heart, and with all your soul—that there hath not fallen one thing of all the good things which Jehovah your God hath spoken concerning you; the whole have come to you; there hath not failed of it one thing.

¹⁵‘And it hath been, as there hath come upon you all the good thing which Jehovah your God hath spoken unto you, so doth Jehovah bring upon you the whole of the evil thing, till His destroying you from off this good ground which Jehovah your God hath given to you; ¹⁶in your transgressing the covenant of Jehovah your God which He commanded you, and ye have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them, then hath the anger of Jehovah burned against you, and ye have perished hastily from off the good land which He hath given to you.’

Chapter 24