Joshua 22
1 Then
Joshua called the
Reubenites, and the
Gadites, and the
half tribe of
Manasseh, 2 And
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:
3 Ye have not
left your
brethren these
many days unto this
day, but have
kept the
charge of the
commandment of the
LORD your
God. 4 And 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. 5 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
cleave unto him, and to
serve him with all your
heart and with all your
soul. 6 So
Joshua blessed them, and sent them
away: and they
went unto their
tents. 7 Now 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,
8 And 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. 9 And 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. 10 And 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. 11 And 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. 12 And 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.
13 And 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, 14 And 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. 15 And 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,
16 Thus
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? 17 Is 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, 18 But 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. 19 Notwithstanding, 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. 20 Did 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. 21 Then 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, 22 The
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,)
23 That 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;
24 And 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? 25 For 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. 26 Therefore we
said, Let us now
prepare to
build us an
altar, not for burnt
offering, nor for
sacrifice: 27 But 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. 28 Therefore
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.
29 God
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. 30 And 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.
31 And
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. 32 And
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.
33 And 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.
34 And 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.