Joshua 22:21-23:16

New International Version

²¹ Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: ²² “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God,^(A) the Lord!^(B) He knows!^(C) And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. ²³ If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings,^(D) or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.^(E)

²⁴ “No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.

²⁶ “That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ ²⁷ On the contrary, it is to be a witness^(F) between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.^(G) Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’

²⁸ “And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness^(H) between us and you.’

²⁹ “Far be it from us to rebel^(I) against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.^(J)”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. ³¹ And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us,^(K) because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s hand.”

³² Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites.^{(L) 33} They were glad to hear the report and praised God.^(M) And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

³⁴ And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness^(N) Between Us—that the Lord is God.

Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders

23 After a long time had passed and the Lord had given Israel rest^(O) from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,^{(P) 2} summoned all Israel—their elders,^(Q) leaders, judges and officials^(R)—and said to them: “I am very old.^{(S) 3} You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you.^{(T) 4} Remember how I have allotted^(U) as an inheritance^(V) for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea^(W) in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God himself will push them out^(X) for your sake. He will drive them out^(Y) before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.^(Z)

⁶ “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law^(AA) of Moses, without turning aside^(AB) to the right or to the left.^{(AC) 7} Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear^(AD) by them. You must not serve them or bow down^(AE) to them. ⁸ But you are to hold fast to the Lord^(AF) your God, as you have until now.

⁹ “The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations;^(AG) to this day no one has been able to withstand you.^{(AH) 10} One of you routs a thousand,^(AI) because the Lord your God fights for you,^(AJ) just as he promised. ¹¹ So be very careful^(AK) to love the Lord^(AL) your God.

¹² “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them^(AM) and associate with them,^{(AN) 13} then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out^(AO) these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares^(AP) and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes,^(AQ) until you perish from this good land,^(AR) which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.^(AS) You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise^(AT) has been fulfilled; not one has failed.^{(AU) 15} But just as all the good things^(AV) the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things^(AW) he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you^(AX) from this good land he has given you.^{(AY) 16} If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.^(AZ)”