Joshua 22:10-34 - Civil War Is Averted
10 And, when they came into the circles of the Jordan, which were in the land of Canaan, - then did the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh build there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of large dimensions,
11 And the sons of Israel heard say, - Lo! the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in front of the land of Canaan, in the circles of the Jordan, in the region opposite the sons of Israel. 12 And, when the sons of Israel heard, all the assembly of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.
13 And the sons of Israel sent unto the sons of Reuben and unto the sons of Gad and unto the half tribe of Manasseh, within the land of Gilead, - Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest; 14 and ten princes with him, one prince of an ancestral house for each of the tribes of Israel, - they being, severally heads of their ancestral houses, among the thousands of Israel. 15 So they came in unto the sons of Reuben and unto the sons of Gad and unto the half tribe of Manasseh, within the land of Gilead, - and spake with them, saying: 16 Thus, say all the assembly of Yahweh - What is this act of treachery which ye have committed against the God of Israel, that ye should turn back, to-day, from following Yahweh, - in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel, to-day, against Yahweh? 17 Too little for us, was the iniquity of Peor, from which we have not cleansed ourselves, unto this day, - although the plague came upon the assembly of Yahweh; 18 but that, ye, must turn back to-day from following Yahweh, - though it must needs be that, if, ye, rebel to-day against Yahweh, then, to-morrow, with all the assembly of Israel, will he be wroth? 19 Howbeit, if, unclean, be the land of your possession, do ye on your part come over into the land of the possession of Yahweh, where abideth the habitation of Yahweh, and take your possession in our midst, - but, against Yahweh, do not rebel, nor, against us, rebel, by building yourselves an altar apart from the altar of Yahweh our God. 20 Did not, Achan son of Zerah, commit an act of treachery, with a devoted thing, and, upon all the assembly of Israel, came wrath, - so that not, he - one man alone, died in his iniquity.
21 Then responded the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, - and spake unto the heads of the thousands of Israel: 22 El-Elohim-Yahweh, El-Elohim-Yahweh, he knoweth, and, Israel, he, shall know, - if in rebellion, or if in treachery, against Yahweh, do not save us this day: 23 that we should build for ourselves an altar, to turn back from following Yahweh, - or, if that we might cause to go up thereon ascending-sacrifice or meal-offering, or if that we might offer thereon peace-offerings, let Yahweh himself require it; 24 if, indeed, we have not, rather, out of anxiety and of purpose, done this thing, saying, - . In time to come, your sons might speak to our sons, saying, What have ye to do with Yahweh, God of Israel; 25 seeing that, a boundary, hath Yahweh put between us and you, ye sons of Reuben and ye sons of Gad - even the Jordan, ye have no portion in Yahweh, - so might your sons cause our sons, to cease from revering Yahweh.
26 We said, therefore, Let us prepare, we pray you, to build us an altar, - not for ascending-offering, nor for sacrifice; 27 but that, a witness, it may be between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we are to do the service of Yahweh, before him, with our ascending-offerings and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, - that your sons may not say, in time to come, to our sons, Ye have no portion in Yahweh. 28 Therefore said we, And it shall be, when they so say to us, or to our generations, in time to come, - that we will say - Behold ye the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for ascending-offerings nor for sacrifice, but that, a witness, it might be between us and you. 29 Far be it from us - that we should rebel against Yahweh, or turn back, to-day, from following Yahweh, by building an altar, for ascending-offering, or meal-offering or for sacrifice, - other than the altar of Yahweh our God, which is before his habitation.
30 And, when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the assembly, even the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spake, then was it well-pleasing in their eyes. 31 And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said unto the sons of Reuben and unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Manasseh - To-day, we know that, in our midst, is Yahweh, in that ye have not committed, against Yahweh, this act of treachery, - now, have ye rescued the sons of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh.
32 So Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the princes returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, unto the sons of Israel, - and brought them back word. 33 And the thing was well-pleasing in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God, - and spake not of going up against them, to war, to lay waste the land, wherein the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad dwelt. 34 So the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad named the altar a Witness : A witness, it is between us, That, Yahweh, is God.