And now the LORDyour God hathgivenrestuntoyourbrethren, as he promisedthem: therefore now return ye, and get you untoyourtents, and unto the land of yourpossession, whichMoses the servant of the LORDgave you on the othersideJordan.
But takediligentheed to do the commandment and the law, whichMoses the servant of the LORDcharged you, to love the LORDyour God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleaveunto him, and to serve him with all yourheart and with all yoursoul.
Now to the one half of the tribe of ManassehMoses had givenpossession in Bashan: but unto the otherhalfthereofgaveJoshuaamongtheirbrethren on thissideJordanwestward. And whenJoshuasentthemawayalsountotheirtents, then he blessedthem,
And he spakeuntothem, saying, Returnwithmuchrichesuntoyourtents, and withverymuchcattle, withsilver, and withgold, and withbrass, and withiron, and withverymuchraiment: divide the spoil of yourenemieswithyourbrethren.
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the halftribe of Manassehreturned, and departedfrom 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 theirpossession, whereoftheywerepossessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
And whentheycameunto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the halftribe of Manassehbuiltthere an altar by Jordan, a greataltar to see to.
And the children of Israelheard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the halftribe of Manassehhavebuilt an altaroveragainst the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.
And when the children of Israelheard of it, the wholecongregation of the children of Israelgatheredthemselvestogether at Shiloh, to go up to war againstthem.
And the children of Israelsentunto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the halftribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
And with him ten princes, of eachchiefhouse a princethroughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of theirfathersamong the thousands of Israel.
And theycameunto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the halftribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and theyspakewiththem, saying,
Thussaith the wholecongregation of the LORD, Whattrespass is thisthat ye havecommittedagainst the God of Israel, to turnawaythis day fromfollowing the LORD, in that ye havebuilded you an altar, that ye mightrebelthis day against the LORD?
But that ye mustturnawaythis day fromfollowing the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wrothwith the wholecongregation of Israel.
Notwithstanding, if the land of yourpossession be unclean, thenpass ye overunto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD’Stabernacledwelleth, and takepossessionamong us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebelagainst us, in building you an altarbeside the altar of the LORD our God.
Did not Achan the son of Zerahcommit a trespass in the accursedthing, and wrathfell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.
The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shallknow; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgressionagainst the LORD, (save us not this day,)
That we havebuilt us an altar to turnfromfollowing the LORD, or if to offerthereonburntoffering or meatoffering, or if to offerpeaceofferingsthereon, let the LORDhimselfrequire it;
And if we have not ratherdone it for fear of thisthing, saying, In time to comeyourchildrenmightspeakunto our children, saying, Whathave ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?
For the LORDhathmadeJordan a borderbetween us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shallyourchildrenmake our childrenceasefromfearing the LORD.
But that it may be a witnessbetween us, and you, and our generationsafter us, that we might do the service of the LORDbefore him with our burntofferings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peaceofferings; thatyourchildren may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
Thereforesaid we, that it shall be, whentheyshould 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 fathersmade, not for burntofferings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witnessbetween us and you.
God forbidthat we shouldrebelagainst the LORD, and turnthis day fromfollowing the LORD, to build an altar for burntofferings, for meatofferings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.
And whenPhinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israelwhichwerewith him, heard the wordsthat the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manassehspake, it pleasedthem.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priestsaidunto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceivethat the LORD is among us, because ye have not committedthistrespassagainst the LORD: now ye havedelivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returnedfrom 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 broughtthemwordagain.
And the thingpleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israelblessed God, and did not intend to go up againstthem in battle, to destroy the landwherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.