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Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed me in everything I have commanded you. 3 You have not deserted your brothers all this time up to this day, but you have kept the charge of the command of the Lord your God. 4 Now that the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He promised them, return to your homes to the land of your possession that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But be very careful to obey the commandments and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you:
“To love the Lord your God,
to walk in all His ways,
to keep all His commandments,
to hold fast to 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 to their homes. 7 Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given territory in Bashan, but to half Joshua gave territory among their brothers on the west side of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them away to their homes, he blessed them, 8 and said to them, “Go back to your homes with great wealth: with many livestock, and with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with a large quantity of clothing. Divide the plunder of your enemies among your brothers.”
9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to return to the land of Gilead—their own land, which they had taken possession of according to the word of the Lord through Moses.
10 When they came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan of large and impressive size.
11 Now a report came to the ears of the Israelites, “Look, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the Israelite side.” 12 When the Israelites heard of it, the whole Israelite community gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.
13 So the Israelites sent Phineas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead. 14 With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel. Each one of them was the head of a family division among the clans of Israel.
15 They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, 16 “This is what the whole community of the Lord says: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed this day against the God of Israel? How can you turn away from following the Lord and build yourselves an altar, so you can rebel against the Lord this day?’ 17 Was not the iniquity of Peor enough for us? To this day, we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord. 18 So why have you turned away from following the Lord this day?
‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole community of Israel. 19 But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land the Lord possesses, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of land among us. But do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us by building yourselves an altar, other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, wrath fell on the whole community of Israel! And that man wasn’t the only person who perished because of his sin’.”
21 Then the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the clans of Israel:
22 “The Lord, God of gods!
The Lord, God of gods!
He knows!ℝ
And may Israel also know!
If it is in rebellion,
or if in treachery against the Lord,
do not spare us this day.
23 If we have built an altar for ourselves
to turn away from following the Lord,
or to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings on it,
or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it,
may the Lord Himself hold us accountable!
24 “No! We actually did it from fear that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 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 descendants may cause our descendants to cease from fearing the Lord.
26 “That is why we said, ‘Let us now take action and build an altar for ourselves, although not for burnt offerings or sacrifices’. 27 To the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, that we will perform the service of the Lord in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings. Then in time to come your descendants will not say to our descendants, ‘You have no part in the Lord’.
28 “For we thought that if this were ever said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we would answer: ‘Look at the replica of the altar of the Lord that our fathers built, though not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between you and us’.
29 “Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away from following the Lord this day by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God, which is in front of His tabernacle.”
30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders, the heads of the clans of Israel who were with him, heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 31 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord. So you have now delivered the Israelites from punishment by the hand of the Lord.
32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan to the Israelites, and brought back a report to them. 33 The report pleased the Israelites, and the Israelites blessed God. Then they did not speak anymore of going to war against them, to ravage the land where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.
34 The Reubenites and the Gadites named the altar Witness: It is a witness between us and them that is God.