J.
The return of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to their land east of the Jordan
22:1-34
Josh. 22
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22:1
Then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Josh. 22
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And he said to them, You have kept all that Moses the servant of Jehovah
acommanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you.
Josh. 22
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You have not forsaken your brothers these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Jehovah your God.
Josh. 22
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And now Jehovah your God has given your brothers
arest as He promised them. And now
1turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you
bacross the Jordan.
Josh. 22
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22:5
However be very careful to perform the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to
alove Jehovah your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Josh. 22
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And Joshua blessed them and sent them away; and they went to their tents.
Josh. 22
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Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given
an inheritance in Bashan, and to the other half of it Joshua gave
an inheritance with their brothers across the Jordan on the west. Furthermore, when Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them,
Josh. 22
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He spoke to them, saying, Return with many riches to your tents and with very many cattle, with silver and with gold and with bronze and with iron and with very much clothing;
adivide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.
Josh. 22
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So the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went; and they departed from among the children of Israel out of
aShiloh, which was in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had taken possession of according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.
Josh. 22
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And when they came into the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an
1altar there at the Jordan, an altar great in appearance.
Josh. 22
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And the children of Israel heard
the report, which said, Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar out in front of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side of the children of Israel.
Josh. 22
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And when the children of Israel heard
this, all the assembly of the children of Israel
agathered together at Shiloh to go up in battle against them.
Josh. 22
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And the children of Israel sent
aPhinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead,
Josh. 22
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And with him ten leaders, one
aleader each to a fathers’ house of all the tribes of Israel; and they were each the head of their fathers’ houses among the thousands of Israel.
Josh. 22
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And they went to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and spoke to them, saying,
Josh. 22
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Thus says all the assembly of Jehovah, What is this trespass that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning this day from following after Jehovah by building yourselves an
aaltar to rebel against Jehovah this day?
Josh. 22
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Was the iniquity of
aPeor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, though there was a plague upon the assembly of Jehovah,
Josh. 22
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That you have turned this day from following after Jehovah? And now, if you rebel against Jehovah this day, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole assembly of Israel.
Josh. 22
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But if the land of your possession is unclean, cross over into the land of the possession of Jehovah,
awhere Jehovah’s tabernacle dwells, and take a possession in the midst of us. But do not rebel against Jehovah, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of Jehovah our God.
Josh. 22
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Did not
aAchan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the matter of the devoted
to destruction? But there was wrath upon the whole assembly of Israel, and that one man did not perish alone for his iniquity.
Josh. 22
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Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel,
Josh. 22
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The Mighty One, God Jehovah; the Mighty One, God Jehovah; He
aknows, and may Israel itself know, whether it was in rebellion, or whether it was in trespass against Jehovah — may You not save us today —
Josh. 22
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That we built an altar for ourselves to turn away from following after Jehovah; or if
we did so to offer burnt offerings and meal offerings upon it or to make sacrifices of peace offerings upon it, may Jehovah Himself require
it.
Josh. 22
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But truly we have done this for a reason
and out of a concern that in the future your
achildren might speak to our children, saying, What have you to do with Jehovah the God of Israel?
Josh. 22
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For Jehovah has made the Jordan a border between us and you, O children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in Jehovah. Thus your children would cause our children to cease fearing Jehovah.
Josh. 22
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Therefore we said, Let us now take action to build the altar,
though not for burnt offering or for sacrifice;
Josh. 22
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But it will be a
awitness between us and between you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of Jehovah
bbefore Him with our burnt offerings and our sacrifices and our peace offerings, and that your children may not say in the future to our children, You have no portion in Jehovah.
Josh. 22
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And we said, When they say
this to us and to our generations in the future, we will say, Look at the copy of the altar of Jehovah that our fathers made,
though not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
Josh. 22
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Far be it from us that we would rebel against Jehovah and turn away today from following after Jehovah by building an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God, which is before His tabernacle!
Josh. 22
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And when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the assembly and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it seemed good in their sight.
Josh. 22
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And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, Today we know that Jehovah is in the
amidst of us, because you have not committed this trespass against Jehovah. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.
Josh. 22
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So Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel; and they brought back word to them.
Josh. 22
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And the matter seemed good in the sight of the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God and never spoke
again of going up in battle against them to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt.
Josh. 22
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And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar; for,
they said, it is a
awitness between us that Jehovah is God.
