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22:1  Then Joshua called a meeting of the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [L half-tribe of] Manasseh.
22:2  He said to them, “You have done everything Moses, the Lord’s servant, told you to do. You have also obeyed ·all my commands [L my voice in all I commanded you].
22:3  For a long time you have ·supported [L not abandoned/forsaken] the other Israelites. You have been careful to ·obey the commands [or carry out the task] the Lord your God gave you [Deut. 3:18–20].
22:4  The Lord your God promised to give the Israelites ·peace [rest], and he has kept his promise. Now you may go back to your homes, to the land that Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave you, ·on the east side of [L beyond] the Jordan River.
22:5  But be careful to obey the ·teachings [commandment] and laws Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave you: to love the Lord your God and ·obey his commands [L walk in his paths], to ·continue to follow [L hold fast to] him and serve him ·the very best you can [L with all your heart and with all your soul].”
22:6  Then Joshua ·said good-bye to [blessed] them, and ·they left and [L sent them away and they] went away to their ·homes [L tents].
22:7  Moses had given the land of Bashan to ·East [the half-tribe of] Manasseh. Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan River to ·West Manasseh [L the other half]. And he sent them to their homes and he blessed them.
22:8  He said, “Go back to your homes with your riches. You have many animals, silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and many beautiful clothes. Divide among ·yourselves [L your brothers] the ·things [plunder] you have taken from your enemies.
22:9  So the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [the half-tribe of] Manasseh left the other ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] at Shiloh in Canaan and went back to Gilead. It was their own land, given to them by Moses as the Lord had commanded.
22:10  The people of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [the half-tribe of] Manasseh went to Geliloth, near the Jordan River in the land of Canaan. There they built a ·beautiful [or imposing; impressive] altar.
22:11  The ·other Israelites still at Shiloh [L sons/T children of Israel] heard about the altar these three tribes built at the border of Canaan at Geliloth, near the Jordan River on Israel’s side.
22:12  All the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] became very angry at these three tribes, so ·they [L the whole assembly/congregation] met together and decided to ·fight [wage war against] them [C because they considered this idolatry; Deut. 13:12–18].
22:13  The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to Gilead to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.
22:14  They also sent ·one leader [L ten leaders, one] from each of the ten tribes at Shiloh. Each of them was a leader ·of his family group [among the clans] of Israelites.
22:15  These leaders went to Gilead to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh. They said:
22:16  “·All the Israelites [L The whole assembly/congregation of the Lord] ask you: ‘Why did you ·turn against [break faith by turning away from] the God of Israel by building an altar for yourselves? You know that this is ·against God’s law [L rebellion this day against the Lord].
22:17  ·Remember what happened at Peor [L Wasn’t the sin of Peor enough; Num. 24]? We still ·suffer today [L have not cleansed/purified ourselves] because of that sin, for which ·God made many Israelites very sick [L a plague came against the congregation/assembly of the Lord].
22:18  And now are you turning against the Lord and refusing to follow him? “‘If you ·don’t stop what you’re doing [L rebel against the Lord] today, the Lord will be angry with ·everyone in Israel [the whole congregation/assembly] tomorrow.
22:19  If your land is ·unclean [C in a ritual sense], come over into our land where the Lord’s ·Tent [T Tabernacle] is. Share it with us. But don’t ·turn [rebel] against the Lord and us by building another altar for the Lord our God.
22:20  ·Remember how [L Is it not true that…?] Achan son of Zerah refused to obey the command about ·what must be completely destroyed [L the devoted things; 7:1–26]. That one man broke God’s law, but ·all the Israelites [L the whole assembly/congregation] were punished. ·Achan died because of his sin, but others also died [L And he did not die alone for his sin].’”
22:21  The people from Reuben, Gad, and ·East [the half-tribe of] Manasseh answered [L the heads of the clans of Israel],
22:22  “·The Lord is God of gods! [or El, God, the Lord] ·The Lord is God of gods [or El, God, the Lord]! God knows, and we want you to know also. If we have ·done something wrong [L rebelled or broken faith with the Lord], ·you may kill us [L do not spare us today].
22:23  If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord or to offer burnt offerings [1:1–17] or ·grain [L gift; tribute; Lev. 2:1] and ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [3:1], may the Lord himself punish us.
22:24  “We did not build it for that reason. We feared that someday your people would not accept us as part of your nation. Then they might say, ‘·You cannot worship [L What do you have to do with…?] the Lord, the God of Israel.
22:25  The Lord made the Jordan River a border between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You ·cannot worship [L have no share/portion in] the Lord.’ So we feared that your children might make our ·children [descendants] stop ·worshiping [L fearing] the Lord.
22:26  “That is why we decided to build this altar. But it is not for burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and sacrifices.
22:27  This altar is ·proof to [witness between] you and us and to all our ·children [generations] who will come after us that we ·worship the Lord [L do the service of the Lord before him] with our whole burnt offerings, grain, and ·fellowship [or peace] offerings. This was so your ·children [descendants] would not say to our ·children [descendants], ‘You ·are not the Lord’s [L have no share/portion in the Lord].’
22:28  “In the future if ·your children [L they] say that to us or our ·children [generations], we can say, ‘See the altar made by our ancestors. It is ·exactly like [a copy/model of] the Lord’s altar, but we do not use it for burnt offerings or sacrifices. It ·shows that we are part of Israel [L is a witness between us and you].’
22:29  “·Truly, we don’t want to be [L Far be it from us to rebel] against the Lord or to ·stop following [turn away from] him by building an altar for burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17], grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [Lev. 2:1], or sacrifices. We know the only true altar to the Lord our God is in front of the ·Holy Tent [T Tabernacle].”
22:30  When Phinehas the priest and the ·ten leaders [L leaders of the congregation, the heads of the clans of the families of Israel,] heard the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, they were ·pleased [satisfied].
22:31  So Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “·Now [L Today] we know the Lord is ·with us [L in our midst] ·and that you didn’t turn against [or because you have not broken faith with] him. Now ·the Israelites will not be punished by [L you have rescued the Israelites from the hand of] the Lord.”
22:32  Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in Gilead and went back to Canaan where they told the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] what had happened.
22:33  They were ·pleased [satisfied] and thanked God. So they ·decided not to fight [L talked no more about going to war against] the people of Reuben and Gad and destroy those lands.
22:34  And the people of Reuben and Gad named the altar ·Proof That We Believe the Lord Is God [L A Witness Between Us—That the Lord Is God; or Witness, “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God”].