Joshua 22
Open in the reader1Then He-Who-Is-Saves summoned the See-a-Son-One, the Fortune-One, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget
2and told them, “You have done all that Drawn-Out the servant of He-Who-Is commanded you, and you have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.
3All this time you have not deserted your brothers, up to this very day, but have kept the charge given you by He-Who-Is your God.
4And now that He-Who-Is your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them, you may return to your homes in the land that Drawn-Out the servant of He-Who-Is gave you across the Descender.
5But be very careful to observe the commandment and the teaching that Drawn-Out the servant of He-Who-Is gave you: to love He-Who-Is your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6So He-Who-Is-Saves blessed them and sent them on their way, and they went to their homes.
7(To the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget Drawn-Out had given land in Fertile-Plain, and to the other half He-Who-Is-Saves gave land on the west side of the Descender among their brothers.) When He-Who-Is-Saves sent them to their homes he blessed them,
8saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”
9So the children of See-a-Son, the children of Fortune, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget left the children of Strives-with-God at Shiloh in the land of Humbled to return to their own land of Heap-of-Witness, which they had acquired according to the command of He-Who-Is through Drawn-Out.
10And when they came to Geliloth near the Descender in the land of Humbled, the children of See-a-Son, the children of Fortune, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget built an imposing altar there by the Descender.
11Then the children of Strives-with-God received the report: “Behold, the children of See-a-Son, the children of Fortune, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget have built an altar on the border of the land of Humbled, at Geliloth near the Descender on the child of Strives-with-God side.”
12And when they heard this, the whole congregation of Strives-with-God assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.
13The children of Strives-with-God sent Phinehas son of My-God-Is-Help the priest to the land of Heap-of-Witness, to the children of See-a-Son, the children of Fortune, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget.
14With him they sent ten chiefs—one family leader from each tribe of Strives-with-God, each the head of a family among the clans of Strives-with-God.
15They went to the children of See-a-Son, the Fortuneites, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget in the land of Heap-of-Witness and said to them,
16“This is what the whole congregation of He-Who-Is says: ‘What is this breach of faith you have committed today against the God of Strives-with-God by turning away from He-Who-Is and building for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel against He-Who-Is this day?
17Was not the sin of The-Opening enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day? It even brought a plague upon the congregation of He-Who-Is.
18And now, would you turn away from He-Who-Is? If you rebel today against He-Who-Is, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Strives-with-God.
19If indeed the land of your inheritance is unclean, then cross over to the land of He-Who-Is’s possession, where He-Who-Is’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But do not rebel against He-Who-Is or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of He-Who-Is our God.
20Was not Troubler son of Dawning unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath upon the whole congregation of Strives-with-God? Yet it was not only Troubler who perished because of his sin!’”
21Then the children of See-a-Son, the children of Fortune, and the half-tribe of Causing-to-Forget answered the leaders of the clans of Strives-with-God:
22“He-Who-Is, the Mighty One, is God! He-Who-Is, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Strives-with-God also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against He-Who-Is, do not spare us today.
23If we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from Him and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice peace offerings on it, may He-Who-Is Himself hold us accountable.
24But in fact we have done this for fear that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you to do with He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God?
25For He-Who-Is has made the Descender a border between us and you children of See-a-Son and children of Fortune. You have no share in He-Who-Is!’ So your descendants could cause ours to stop fearing He-Who-Is.
26That is why we said, ‘Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.
27Rather, let it be a witness between us and you and the generations to come, that we will worship He-Who-Is in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.’ Then in the future, your descendants cannot say to ours, ‘You have no share in He-Who-Is!’
28Therefore we said, ‘If they ever say this to us or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the altar of He-Who-Is that our fathers made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’
29Far be it from us to rebel against He-Who-Is and turn away from Him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices, other than the altar of He-Who-Is our God, which stands before His Dwelling.”
30When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation—the heads of Strives-with-God’s clans who were with him—heard what the descendants of See-a-Son, Fortune, and Causing-to-Forget had to say, they were satisfied.
31Phinehas son of My-God-Is-Help the priest said to the descendants of See-a-Son, Fortune, and Causing-to-Forget, “Today we know that He-Who-Is is among us, because you have not committed this breach of faith against Him. Consequently, you have delivered the children of Strives-with-God from the hand of He-Who-Is.”
32Then Phinehas son of My-God-Is-Help the priest, together with the other leaders, returned to the children of Strives-with-God in the land of Humbled and brought back a report regarding the children of See-a-Son and children of Fortune in the land of Heap-of-Witness.
33The children of Strives-with-God were satisfied with the report, and they blessed God and spoke no more about going to war against them to destroy the land where the children of See-a-Son and children of Fortune lived.
34So the children of See-a-Son and children of Fortune named the altar Witness, for they said, “It is a witness between us that He-Who-Is is God.”