1 In the same time Joshua called the men of Reuben, and the men of Gad, and half the lineage of Manasseh, (At that time Joshua called the men of Reuben, and the men of Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh,)

2 and said to them, Ye have done all things which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to you, also ye [have] obeyed to me in all things;

3 neither ye have left your brethren in much time till into present day, and ye kept the commandment of your Lord God. (nor have ye ever left your brothers, or your kinsmen, unto this present day, and ye have obeyed the commandments of the Lord your God.)

4 Therefore for your Lord God hath given rest and peace to your brethren, as he promised, turn ye again, and go ye into your tabernacles, and into the land of your possession, which land Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave to you beyond (the) Jordan; (And so for the Lord your God hath given rest and peace to your kinsmen, as he promised, now return ye, and go ye back to your tents, or your homes, in the land of your possession, which land Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you on the east side of the Jordan River;)

5 so only that ye keep busily, and [ful] fill in work the commandment and [the] law, which law Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to you; that ye love your Lord God, and go in all his ways, and keep his behests, and cleave to him, and serve him in all your heart, and in all your soul. (so only that ye busily obey, and fulfill in deeds, the commandments and the law, which law Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to you; yea, that ye love the Lord your God, and go in all his ways, and obey his commands, and cleave to him, and serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul.)

6 And Joshua blessed them, and let go them, which turned again into their tabernacles. (And so Joshua blessed them, and let them go, and they returned to their tents, or their homes.)

7 Soothly Moses had given (a) possession in Bashan to the half lineage of Manasseh; and therefore to the half lineage that (was) left [over], Joshua gave (a) part among their other brethren beyond (the) Jordan, at the west coast thereof. And when Joshua let them go into their tabernacles, and had blessed them, (Now Moses had given a possession in Bashan, that is, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, to half of the tribe of Manasseh; and so to the other half of this tribe, Joshua gave a portion among their other kinsmen, on the western side of the Jordan River. And before Joshua let them go back to their tents, or their homes, he blessed them,)

8 he said to them, With much cattle and riches turn ye again to your seats, (or and he said to them, Return ye to your homes with much cattle and riches); with silver and gold, and brass, and iron, and with much clothing; (and) part ye the prey of [the] enemies with your brethren.

9 And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half lineage of Manasseh turned again, and went from the sons of Israel from Shiloh, which is set in the land of Canaan, that they should enter into Gilead, the land of their possession, which they got by [the] commandment of the Lord in the hand of Moses. (And so the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and theeastern half of the tribe of Manasseh went away from the Israelites at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to return to Gilead, the land of their possession, which they got by the Lord’s command, through Moses.)

10 And when they had come to the terms of (the) Jordan, into the land of Canaan, they builded beside (the) Jordan an altar of (the) greatest sight. (And when they had come to Geliloth, by the Jordan River, in the region of Gilgal, they built a great altar there by the river for all to see.)

11 And when the sons of Israel had heard this, and certain messengers had told (this) to them, that the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and the half lineage of Manasseh, had builded an altar in the land of Canaan, on the heaps of (the) Jordan, against the sons of Israel, (And when the Israelites had heard of this, and certain messengers had told them, that the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, had built an altar on the bank of the Jordan River, facing the Israelites in the land of Canaan,)

12 all they came together in Shiloh (or they all came together in Shiloh), (so) that they should go up, and fight against them.

13 And in the meantime, they sent to them into the land of Gilead, Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, (And in the meantime, they sent Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, to those tribes in the land of Gilead,)

14 and ten princes with him; of each lineage one prince. (and ten leaders with him; one leader from each tribe.)

15 The which came to the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and to the half lineage of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, and they said to them, (And they came to the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them,)

16 All the people of the Lord sendeth to you, (and asketh) these things; What is this trespassing? Why have ye forsaken the Lord God of Israel, and have builded a cursed altar, and have gone away from the worshipping of him?

17 Whether the sin of Peor is little to you, of which we (still) be not clean till to this day, and many of the people felled down (there)?

18 And today ye have forsaken the Lord, and tomorrow, that is, in time to coming, (or that is, in the time to come), the ire of him shall be fierce against all Israel.

19 That if ye guess that the land of your possession is unclean, pass ye (over) to the land, in which the tabernacle of the Lord is, and dwell ye among us, only that ye go not away from the Lord, and from our fellowship, by an altar builded beside the altar of our Lord God. (But if ye think that the land of your possession is unclean, then come ye back here to the land where the Tabernacle of the Lord is, and live ye among us, so only that ye go not away from the Lord, and from our fellowship, with an altar built in addition to the altar of the Lord our God.)

20 Whether not Achan, the son of Zerah, passed the commandment of the Lord, and his ire felled on all the people of Israel? And he was one man; and we would that he alone had perished in his trespass. (Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, pass over the Lord’s command, and then the Lord’s anger fell on all the people of Israel? And Achan was but one man; and we wish that he alone had perished for his trespass.)

21 And the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of half the lineage of Manasseh, answered to the princes of the message of Israel, (And the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, answered to the leaders of the families of Israel, and said,)

22 The strongest Lord God himself of Israel knoweth, and Israel shall understand altogether; (The most strong Lord God of Israel himself knoweth, and Israel must also understand;)

23 if we builded this altar for intent of trespassing, that is, of idolatry, the Lord keep not us, but punish he us in this present time; and if we did by that mind, that we should put thereon burnt sacrifice[s], and sacrifice(s), and peaceable sacrifices, he seek, and deem; (that if we have built this altar with the intention of trespassing, that is, for idolatry, the Lord should not allow us to live, and he should punish us right now; yea, if we did it for this purpose, so that we could put on it burnt sacrifices, and sacrifices, and peace offerings, or grain offerings, let him seek it out, and judge us right now;)

24 and not more, rather, (that) we did it with this thinking and treating, that we should say thus, (If) Your sons hereafter shall say to our sons, What is to you and to the Lord God of Israel? or, What claim (have) ye to be of his people?

25 O! ye sons of Reuben, and ye sons of Gad, the Lord hath set a term, the flood Jordan, betwixt us and you; and therefore ye have no part in the Lord; and by this occasion your sons shall turn away our sons from the dread of the Lord. (and they say, O ye sons of Reuben! and ye sons of Gad, the Lord hath set a border, the Jordan River, between us and you; and so ye have no part in the Lord; and in this way your sons and daughters shall turn away our sons and daughters from the fear of the Lord or from reverence for the Lord.)

26 Therefore we guessed (it) better, and we said, Build we an altar to us, not into burnt sacrifices, neither to sacrifices to be offered, (And so we thought about it, and we said to each other, Let us build an altar for ourselves, not for burnt sacrifices, nor for sacrifices to be offered,)

27 but into witnessing betwixt us and you, and betwixt our children and your generation, that we serve the Lord, and that it be of our right to offer burnt sacrifices, and sacrifices, and peaceable sacrifices; and that your sons say not tomorrow to our sons, No part in the Lord is to you. (but as a witness between us and you, and between our children and your children, that we serve the same Lord, and that it be our right to offer burnt sacrifices, and sacrifices, and peace offerings, or grain offerings; and so your children shall not be able to say to our children tomorrow, and the next day, There is no part for you in the Lord.)

28 And if your sons will say this, our sons shall answer (to) them, Lo! the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not into burnt sacrifices, neither into slain sacrifices, but into our and your witnessing everlasting, (or not for burnt sacrifices, nor for slain sacrifices, but for an everlasting witness between us and you).

29 Far be this trespass from us, that we go away from the Lord, and forsake his steps, by an altar builded to burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, and sacrifices of praising to be offered thereon, besides the altar of the Lord our God, that is builded before his tabernacle. (So let this trespass be far from us, that we would ever go away from the Lord, and forsake to follow his steps, with an altar built for burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, and grain offerings to be offered on it, in addition to the altar of the Lord our God, that standeth before his Tabernacle.)

30 And when these things were heard, Phinehas, [the] priest, and [the] princes of the message of Israel, that were with him, were pleased; and they received gladly the words of the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the half lineage of Manasseh. (And when these words were heard, Phinehas, the priest, and the leaders of the families of Israel who were with him, were pleased; and they gladly received the words of the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh.)

31 And Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, said to them, Now we know, that the Lord is with you; for ye be alien, or guiltless, from this trespassing, and ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand, or punishing, of the Lord.

32 And Phinehas turned again with the princes from the sons of Reuben and of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the coast of Canaan, to the sons of Israel; and he told these things to them.

33 And the word pleased to all men hearing it; and the sons of Israel praised God, and said, that they would no more ascend against them, and fight, and do away the land of their possession. (And this word pleased all who heard it; and the Israelites praised God, and agreed that they would talk no more about going up against the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and fighting them, and destroying the land of their possession.)

34 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar, which they had builded, Our Witnessing that the Lord Himself is God.