Then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

And he said to them, You have kept all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you.

You have not forsaken your brothers these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Jehovah your God.

And now Jehovah your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them. And now  ¹turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you across the Jordan.

However be very careful to perform the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love Jehovah your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

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

Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given an inheritance in Bashan, and to the other half of it Joshua gave an inheritance with their brothers across the Jordan on the west. Furthermore, when Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them,

He spoke to them, saying, Return with many riches to your tents and with very many cattle, with silver and with gold and with bronze and with iron and with very much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.

So the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went; and they departed from among the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which was in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had taken possession of according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.

And when they came into the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an  ¹altar there at the Jordan, an altar great in appearance.

And the children of Israel heard the report, which said, Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar out in front of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side of the children of Israel.

And when the children of Israel heard this, all the assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go up in battle against them.

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

And with him ten leaders, one leader each to a fathers' house of all the tribes of Israel; and they were each the head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel.

And they went to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and spoke to them, saying,

Thus says all the assembly of Jehovah, What is this trespass that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning this day from following after Jehovah by building yourselves an altar to rebel against Jehovah this day?

Was the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, though there was a plague upon the assembly of Jehovah,

That you have turned this day from following after Jehovah? And now, if you rebel against Jehovah this day, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole assembly of Israel.

But if the land of your possession is unclean, cross over into the land of the possession of Jehovah, where Jehovah's tabernacle dwells, and take a possession in the midst of us. But do not rebel against Jehovah, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of Jehovah our God.

Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the matter of the devoted thing? But there was wrath upon the whole assembly of Israel, and that one man did not perish alone for his iniquity.

Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel,

The Mighty One, God Jehovah; the Mighty One, God Jehovah; He knows, and may Israel itself know, whether it was in rebellion, or whether it was in trespass against Jehovah — may You not save us today —

That we built an altar for ourselves to turn away from following after Jehovah; or if we did so to offer burnt offerings and meal offerings upon it or to make sacrifices of peace offerings upon it, may Jehovah Himself require it.

But truly we have done this for a reason and out of a concern that in the future your children might speak to our children, saying, What have you to do with Jehovah the God of Israel?

For Jehovah has made the Jordan a border between us and you, O children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in Jehovah. Thus your children would cause our children to cease fearing Jehovah.

Therefore we said, Let us now take action to build the altar, though not for burnt offering or for sacrifice;

But it will be a witness between us and between you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt offerings and our sacrifices and our peace offerings, and that your children may not say in the future to our children, You have no portion in Jehovah.

And we said, When they say this to us and to our generations in the future, we will say, Look at the copy of the altar of Jehovah that our fathers made, though not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.

Far be it from us that we would rebel against Jehovah and turn away today from following after Jehovah by building an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God, which is before His tabernacle!

And when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the assembly and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it seemed good in their sight.

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, Today we know that Jehovah is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this trespass against Jehovah. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.

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

And the matter seemed good in the sight of the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God and never spoke again of going up in battle against them to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt.

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar; for, they said, it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.

And many days after Jehovah had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them and Joshua was old and advanced in age,

Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers; and he said to them, I am old and advanced in age;

And you have seen all that Jehovah your God has done to all these nations because of you, for it was Jehovah your God who fought for you.

See, I have allotted to you all these nations that remain as an inheritance for your tribes, as well as all the nations that I cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.

And Jehovah your God, He will thrust them out before you and dispossess them out of your sight; and you will possess their land, as Jehovah your God spoke to you.

Therefore be very strong to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, not turning away from it to the right or to the left,

And not going unto these nations, these that remain with you; neither shall you make mention of the names of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them, nor serve them, nor bow down to them;

But you shall cling to Jehovah your God, as you have done to this day.

For Jehovah has dispossessed great and strong nations because of you; but as for you, no one has stood before you to this day.

One man of you chases a thousand, for it is Jehovah your God who fights for you, as He has spoken to you.

Be very careful therefore for yourselves, that you  ¹love Jehovah your God.

But if you do indeed turn back and cling to the remainder of these nations, these that remain with you, and marry into them, and go among them and they among you;

Know for certain that Jehovah your God will no longer dispossess these nations out of your sight, but they will become a snare and a trap to you, and a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Jehovah your God has given you.

And now today I am going the way of all the earth; and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not a word has failed of all the good things that Jehovah your God spoke concerning you. All has come to pass for you; not one word of it has failed.

But just as all the good things that Jehovah your God spoke concerning you have come upon you, so will Jehovah cause all the evil things to come upon you, until He has destroyed you from this good land that Jehovah your God has given you.

When you transgress the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down to them, the anger of Jehovah will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land that He has given you.

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; and he called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and for their judges and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt across the  ¹River long ago, Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods.

And I took your father Abraham from across the River and brought him throughout all the land of Canaan; and I multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac.

And I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. And I gave Mount Seir to Esau, that he might possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.

And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in the midst of it; and afterward I brought you out.

And I brought your fathers out from Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea.

And when they cried out to Jehovah, He put deep darkness between you and the Egyptians; and He brought the sea upon them and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. And you dwelt in the wilderness for many days.

And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you. And I gave them into your hand, and you possessed their land; and I destroyed them before you.

Then Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel; and he sent men and called for Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he altogether blessed you, and I delivered you out of his hand.

And you crossed over the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the lords of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I gave them into your hand.

And I sent the hornet before you, and it drove them out from before you, that is, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.

And I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.

Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness; and put away the gods whom your fathers served across the River and in Egypt, and serve Jehovah.

And if it seems wrong in your sight to serve Jehovah, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve, either the gods from across the River, whom your fathers served, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.

And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we would forsake Jehovah to serve other gods;

For Jehovah our God is the One who brought us and our fathers out from the land of Egypt, from the slave house, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed;

And Jehovah drove out all the peoples from before us, that is, the Amorites who inhabit the land. We also will serve Jehovah, for He is our God.

Then Joshua said to the people, You are not able to serve Jehovah, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins.

If you forsake Jehovah and serve foreign gods, He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.

And the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve Jehovah.

Then Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Jehovah on your own, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses.

Now therefore put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to Jehovah the God of Israel.

And the people said to Joshua, Jehovah our God we will serve, and to His voice we will listen.

So Joshua made a covenant for the people that day, and he made a statute and an ordinance for them in Shechem.

And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and he took a great stone and erected it there under the terebinth that was at the sanctuary of Jehovah.

And Joshua said to all the people, This stone here shall be as a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of Jehovah, which He has spoken to us; and it shall be as a witness against you, lest you act deceptively against your God.

Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

And after these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died at the age of one hundred and ten years.

And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

And Israel served Jehovah throughout all the days of Joshua and throughout all the days of the elders whose days extended after Joshua's and who knew all the work of Jehovah that He had done for Israel.

And Joseph's bones, which the children of Israel had brought up from Egypt, were buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and  ¹it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in  ¹the hill of Phinehas his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.