¹Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh,

²And he said to them: You yourselves have kept all that Moses the slave of Yahweh commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.

³You did not forsake your brothers these many days, until this day; and you kept the duty of the commandments of Yahweh your God.

⁴And now Yahweh your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them; and now turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the slave of Yahweh gave you on the far side of the Jordan.

⁵Only take exceeding care to do the commandment and the instruction that Moses the slave of Yahweh commanded you: to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to cleave to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your being.

⁶And Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷To the half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given in Bashan, and to its half Joshua gave, among their brothers on the far side of the Jordan, westward; and also when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,

⁸And he said to them: Return to your tents with great wealth, and with very great livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and cloaks in very great number; share the plunder of your enemies with your brothers.

⁹And the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh returned and went from the children of Israel, from Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, where they had taken hold according to the mouth of Yahweh, by the hand of Moses.

¹⁰And they came to Geliloth of the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, and the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh built there an altar at the Jordan, an altar great to look at.

¹¹And the children of Israel heard, saying: Look, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh have built the altar in front of the land of Canaan, at Geliloth of the Jordan, on the side of the children of Israel.

¹²And the children of Israel heard, and all the congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go up against them for war.

¹³And the children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half of the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,

¹⁴And ten princes with him, one prince for each father's house, for all the tribes of Israel; and each was the head of their fathers' house, they belonging to the thousands of Israel.

¹⁵And they came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half of the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying:

¹⁶Thus said all the congregation of Yahweh: What is this breach that you have committed against the God of Israel, turning back today from following Yahweh, by building yourselves an altar, rebelling today against Yahweh?

¹⁷Is the guilt of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, and there was the blow among the congregation of Yahweh?

¹⁸Will you turn back today from following Yahweh? It will be that you rebel today against Yahweh, and tomorrow he will be angry with all the congregation of Israel.

¹⁹But if the land of your possession is unclean, cross over into the land of the possession of Yahweh, where the dwelling place of Yahweh abides there, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against Yahweh, and do not rebel against us by building yourselves an altar apart from the altar of Yahweh our God.

²⁰Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a breach in the devoted thing, and wrath came upon all the congregation of Israel? He was one man; did he not breathe his last for his guilt?

²¹And the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke with the heads of the thousands of Israel:

²²El, God, Yahweh! El, God, Yahweh! He knows, and Israel, it will know: if in rebellion, or if in breach against Yahweh, do not save us this day.

²³To build ourselves an altar, to turn back from following Yahweh, or if to offer up on it a burnt offering and a grain offering, or if to make on it sacrifices of peace offerings, may Yahweh himself require it.

²⁴Rather, out of worry about a word we did this, saying: Tomorrow your sons will say to our sons, saying: What have you to do with Yahweh the God of Israel?

²⁵And Yahweh has set a boundary between us and you, children of Reuben and children of Gad: the Jordan. There is no portion for you in Yahweh. And your sons will cause our sons to cease, so as not to fear Yahweh.

²⁶And we said: Let us act, please, for ourselves, by building the altar, not for burnt offering, and not for sacrifice;

²⁷But it is a witness between us and between you, and between our generations after us, to serve the service of Yahweh before his face with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and our peace offerings; and your sons will not say tomorrow to our sons: There is no portion for you in Yahweh.

²⁸And we said: It will be that if they say to us or to our generations tomorrow, then we will say: See the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, and not for sacrifice, but it is a witness between us and between you.

²⁹Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh, and to turn back today from following Yahweh, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Yahweh our God that stands before his dwelling place.

³⁰And Phinehas the priest, the princes of the congregation, and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him heard the words that spoke the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, and it was good in their eyes.

³¹And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh: Today we know that Yahweh is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach against Yahweh; then you have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of Yahweh.

³²And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes returned from the children of Reuben and from the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and they brought back to them word.

³³And the word was good in the eyes of the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not say to go up against them for war, to ruin the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelled.

³⁴And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar: For it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God.