¹ Then Joshua called for the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,

² and said to them, You have done all that which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you. And you have listened to my voice, to all that I have commanded you.

³ You have not left your brothers these many days until today, and have kept the observance of the command of Jehovah your God.

⁴ And now Jehovah your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them. And now you turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah has given to you beyond the Jordan.

⁵ Only, be very much on guard to do the commands and the law which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

⁶ And Joshua blessed them and sent them away. And they went to their tents.

⁷ And to the half tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given possession in Bashan. And to its other half Joshua had given possession with their brothers beyond the Jordan westward. And also when Joshua had sent them away to their tents, then he blessed them.

⁸ And he spoke to them, saying, You are returning to your tents with great treasures, and with very much livestock, with silver, and with gold, and with bronze, and with iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.

⁹ And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh turned and left the sons of Israel from Shiloh in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession in which they have possession, according to the command of Jehovah by the hand of Moses.

¹⁰ And when they came to the regions of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, then the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, an altar of grand appearance.

¹¹ And the sons of Israel heard it said, Behold, the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar across from the land of Canaan, in the regions of the Jordan, at the border of the sons of Israel.

¹² And the sons of Israel heard, and all the company of the sons of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go up against them to war.

¹³ And the sons of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead,

¹⁴ and ten rulers with him, one ruler each for the house of a father, for all the tribes of Israel, and each of them a head of the house of their fathers, for the thousands of Israel.

¹⁵ And they came to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and spoke with them, saying,

¹⁶ So says all the company of Jehovah, What is this treachery with which the God of Israel was betrayed, to turn back today from after Jehovah, in that you built for yourself an altar so that you might rebel today against Jehovah?

¹⁷ Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not been cleansed until this day? Yea, a plague came on the company of Jehovah;

¹⁸ that you turn away today from following after Jehovah? And it shall be that today you rebel against Jehovah, and tomorrow He shall be angry with all the company of Israel.

¹⁹ And surely, if the land of your possession is unclean, you may cross over to the land of the possession of Jehovah, there where the tabernacle of Jehovah dwells, and have possession among us. But do not rebel against Jehovah, and do not rebel against us, by building for yourselves an altar besides the altar of Jehovah our God.

²⁰ Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a sin in the cursed thing, and was there not wrath on all the company of Israel? And he was not the only one to die in his iniquity.

²¹ And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke with the heads of the thousands of Israel,

²² Jehovah is the God of gods; Jehovah is the God of gods! He knows, and Israel shall know, if it is in rebellion, and if it is in treachery against Jehovah, you shall not save us alive today.

²³ If we built an altar for ourselves to turn away from following after Jehovah, or to sacrifice on it burnt offering and food offering, or to offer on it sacrifices of peace, may Jehovah Himself require it .

²⁴ But surely from anxiety, for a reason, we have done this, saying, In the future your sons shall speak to our sons, saying, What is to you and to Jehovah the God of Israel?

²⁵ For Jehovah has put a border between you and us, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad; it is the Jordan. You have no portion in Jehovah! And your sons will cause our sons to fail, not fearing Jehovah.

²⁶ And we said, Let us now prepare for ourselves, to build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice,

²⁷ but it shall be a witness 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; that your sons may not say to our sons in the future, You have no portion in Jehovah.

²⁸ And we said, And it shall be, when they say this to us, and to our generations hereafter, that we shall say, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and you.

²⁹ Far be it from us to rebel against Jehovah, and to turn away today from following after Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt offering, for food offering, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Jehovah our God, which is before His tabernacle!

³⁰ And Phinehas the priest, and the rulers of the congregation and the heads of the thousands of Israel with him heard the words which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh had spoken. And it was good in their eyes.

³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, Today we have known that Jehovah is among us, because you have not betrayed this treachery against Jehovah. Now you have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.

³² And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad out of the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought word back to them.