Joshua 22:25-34

22:25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’¹ In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying² the Lord. 22:26 So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, 22:27 but as a reminder to us and you,³ and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence⁴ with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace.⁵ Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’⁶ 22:28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing⁷ to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors⁸ made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’⁹ 22:29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace¹⁰ aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!”¹¹

22:30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites,¹² they were satisfied.¹³ 22:31 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites,¹⁴ “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this.¹⁵ Now¹⁶ you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.”¹⁷

22:32 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.¹⁸ 22:33 The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God.¹⁹ They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived.²⁰ 22:34 The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us²¹ that the Lord is God.”

¹tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”

²tn Heb “fearing.”

³tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”

⁴tn Heb “to do the service of the Lord before him.”

⁵tn Or “peace offerings.”

⁶tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”

⁷tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁸tn Heb “fathers.”

⁹tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”

¹⁰tn Or “peace offerings.”

¹¹sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.

¹²tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”

¹³tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”

¹⁴tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”

¹⁵tn Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the Lord.”

¹⁶tn On the use of אָז in a logical sense, see Waltke-O’Connor, Hebrew Syntax, 667.

¹⁷tn Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the Lord.”

¹⁸tn Heb “and Phinehas…returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel. And they brought back to them a word.”

¹⁹tn Heb “and the word was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel and the sons of Israel blessed God.”

²⁰tn Heb “and they did not speak about going up against them for battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.”

²¹tn Heb “a witness between us.”