Joshua 22-24

Complete Jewish Bible

22 Then Y’hoshua called the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M’nasheh, ² and said to them, “You have done everything Moshe the servant of Adonai ordered you to do and heeded what I said in all the orders I gave you. ³ All this time you have not abandoned your kinsmen but have obeyed your commission, as Adonai your God ordered. ⁴ Now Adonai your God has given rest to your kinsmen, as he told them he would. So you too, return to your tents in the land which is your possession, which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave you beyond the Yarden. ⁵ Only take great care to obey the mitzvah and the Torah which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave you — to love Adonai your God, follow all his ways, observe his mitzvot, cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and being.” ⁶ Then Y’hoshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. ⁷ (To the one half-tribe of M’nasheh, Moshe had given an inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half, Y’hoshua gave one among their kinsmen on the west side of the Yarden.) When Y’hoshua sent them away to their tents he blessed them, ⁸ saying, “Return with great riches to your tents — with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with great quantities of clothing; share the spoil of your enemies with your kinsmen.”

⁹ So the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh returned; they left the people of Isra’el in Shiloh, in the land of Kena‘an, to go to the land of Gil‘ad, to the land they were to possess and which they already did possess — according to the order of Adonai through Moshe. ¹⁰ When the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe arrived in the area of the land of Kena‘an near the Yarden, they built an altar there by the Yarden, a large, impressive altar. ¹¹ The people of Isra’el heard of it and said, “Look! The descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have built an altar by the frontier of the land of Kena‘an, in the area by the Yarden, on the side that belongs to the people of Isra’el.”

¹² When the people of Isra’el heard of it, the entire community of Isra’el gathered together in Shiloh to wage war against them. ¹³ The people of Isra’el sent Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen into the land of Gil‘ad to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh. ¹⁴ With him were ten leaders, one leader of an ancestral clan for each of the tribes of Isra’el; each one was a head of his ancestral clan among the thousands of Isra’el. ¹⁵ They came to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh in the land of Gil‘ad and spoke with them; they said, ¹⁶ “Here is what the whole community of Adonai is saying: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Isra’el, turning away today from following Adonai, in that you have built yourselves an altar, thus rebelling today against Adonai? ¹⁷ Is the guilt we incurred at P‘or not enough for us? We haven’t cleansed ourselves from it to this day, even though a plague came on the community of Adonai. ¹⁸ Is this why you have to turn away today from following Adonai? If you rebel against Adonai today, he will be angry tomorrow with the whole community of Isra’el. ¹⁹ If the land you have taken possession of is unclean, then cross back over into the land which belongs to Adonai, where the tabernacle of Adonai is located, and take a possession among us. But don’t rebel against Adonai, and don’t rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of Adonai our God. ²⁰ Didn’t Achan the son of Zerach commit a sin in regard to things set aside for destruction, and God’s anger fell on the whole community of Isra’el? He was not the only one who died for his crime.’”

²¹ Then the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh answered the leaders of the thousands of Isra’el: ²² “The Mighty One, God, is Adonai! He knows, and Isra’el will know — if we acted in rebellion or treachery against Adonai, don’t vindicate us today! ²³ We haven’t built an altar in order to turn away from following Adonai or to offer on it burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices as peace offerings. If we have, let Adonai himself require us to atone for it. ²⁴ Rather, we did this out of anxiety, because we thought, ‘Sometime in the future, your descendants might say to our descendants, “You don’t have anything to do with Adonai, the God of Isra’el, ²⁵ because Adonai made the Yarden the border between us and you, so you descendants of Re’uven and Gad have no share in Adonai.”’ In this way your descendants could make our descendants stop fearing Adonai. ²⁶ So we said, ‘Let us now make preparations and build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, ²⁷ but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations who will come after us, so that we may perform the service for Adonai in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and peace offerings — so that your descendants will not say to our descendants at some future time, “You have no share in Adonai.”’ ²⁸ For this reason we said, ‘When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, “Look! Here is a replica of the altar of Adonai which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against Adonai and turn away today from following Adonai by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices other than the altar of Adonai our God which stands in front of his tabernacle!”

³⁰ When Pinchas the cohen and the leaders of the community, the heads of the thousands of Isra’el who were with him, heard what the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M’nasheh said, it satisfied them. ³¹ Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen said to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M’nasheh, “Today we know that Adonai is here with us, because you have not committed this treasonous act against Adonai. Now you have saved the people of Isra’el from the anger of Adonai.” ³² So Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen and the leaders returned from the descendants of Re’uven and Gad, from the land of Gil‘ad to the land of Kena‘an and the people of Isra’el, bringing word back to them. ³³ What they said satisfied the people of Isra’el. The people of Isra’el blessed God and said no more about going to wage war against the descendants of Re’uven and Gad and destroying the land where they lived. ³⁴ The descendants of Re’uven and Gad called the altar “‘Ed [a witness]” between us that Adonai is God.

23 A long time afterwards, when Adonai had given Isra’el rest from all their surrounding enemies, and Y’hoshua was old, with age taking its toll, ² Y’hoshua summoned all Isra’el — their leaders, heads, judges and officials — and said to them, “I am old; age is taking its toll. ³ You have seen everything that Adonai your God has done to all these nations because of you, for it is Adonai your God who has fought on your behalf. ⁴ Here, I have allotted to you land for inheritance according to your tribes between the Yarden and the Great Sea to the west; it includes the land of the nations I have destroyed and the nations which remain. ⁵ Adonai your God will thrust them out ahead of you and drive them out of your sight, so that you will possess their land, as Adonai your God told you.

⁶ “Therefore be very firm about keeping and doing everything written in the book of the Torah of Moshe and not turning aside from it either to the right or to the left. ⁷ Then you won’t become like those nations remaining among you. Don’t even mention the name of their gods, let alone have people swear by them, serve them or worship them; ⁸ but cling to Adonai your God, as you have done to this day. ⁹ This is why Adonai has driven out great, strong nations ahead of you; and it explains why no one has prevailed against you to this day, ¹⁰ why one man of you has chased a thousand — it is because Adonai your God has fought on your behalf, as he said to you.

¹¹ “Therefore take great care to love Adonai your God. ¹² Otherwise, if you retreat and cling to the remnant of these other nations remaining among you, if you make marriages with them and have children with them and they with you, ¹³ know for certain that Adonai your God will stop driving out these nations from your sight. Instead, they will become a snare and a trap for you, whipping your sides and pricking your eyes, until you perish from this good land which Adonai your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Today I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore consider in all your heart and being that not one of all the good things Adonai your God said concerning you has failed to happen; it has all come to pass; nothing of it has failed. ¹⁵ Nevertheless, just as all the good things Adonai your God promised you have come upon you, likewise Adonai will bring upon you all the bad things too, until he has destroyed you from this good land which Adonai your God has given you. ¹⁶ When you violate the covenant of Adonai your God, which he ordered you to obey, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then the anger of Adonai will blaze up against you; and you will perish quickly from the good land which he has given you!”

24 Y’hoshua gathered all the tribes of Isra’el to Sh’khem; he summoned the leaders, heads, judges and officials of Isra’el; and they presented themselves before God. ² Y’hoshua said to all the people, “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘In antiquity your ancestors lived on the other side of the [Euphrates] River — Terach the father of Avraham and Nachor — and they served other gods. ³ I took your ancestor Avraham from beyond the River, led him through all the land of Kena‘an, increased his descendants and gave him Yitz’chak. ⁴ I gave to Yitz’chak Ya‘akov and ‘Esav. To ‘Esav I gave Mount Se‘ir as his possession, but Ya‘akov and his children went down into Egypt. ⁵ I sent Moshe and Aharon, I inflicted plagues on Egypt in accordance with what I did among them, and afterwards I brought you out. ⁶ Yes, I brought your fathers out of Egypt: you arrived at the sea, and the Egyptians were pursuing your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Sea of Suf. ⁷ But when they cried out to Adonai, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, overwhelmed them with the sea and drowned them. Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt, and then you lived in the desert for a long time. ⁸ I brought you into the land of the Emori living beyond the Yarden; they fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them ahead of you. ⁹ Then Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo’av, rose up and fought against Isra’el. He sent and summoned Bil‘am the son of B‘or to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I refused to listen to Bil‘am, and he actually blessed you. In this way I rescued you from him. ¹¹ Next you crossed the Yarden and came to Yericho. The men of Yericho fought against you — the Emori, P’rizi, Kena‘ani, Hitti, Girgashi, Hivi and Y’vusi — and I handed them over to you. ¹² I sent the hornet ahead of you, driving them out from ahead of you, the two kings of the Emori — it wasn’t by your sword or your bow. ¹³ Then I gave you a land where you had not worked and cities you had not built, and you live there. You eat fruit from vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “Therefore fear Adonai, and serve him truly and sincerely. Put away the gods your ancestors served beyond the [Euphrates]River and in Egypt, and serve Adonai! ¹⁵ If it seems bad to you to serve Adonai, then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve Adonai!”

¹⁶ The people answered, “Far be it from us that we would abandon Adonai to serve other gods; ¹⁷ because it is Adonai our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery, and did those great signs before our eyes, and preserved us all along the way we traveled and among all the peoples we passed through; ¹⁸ and it was Adonai who drove out from ahead of us all the peoples, the Emori living in the land. Therefore we too will serve Adonai, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ Y’hoshua said to the people, “You can’t serve Adonai; because he is a holy God, a jealous God, and he will not forgive your crimes and sins. ²⁰ If you abandon Adonai and serve foreign gods, he will turn, doing you harm and destroying you after he has done you good.”

²¹ But the people said to Y’hoshua, “No, but we will serve Adonai.”

²² Y’hoshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Adonai, to serve him.”

They answered, “We are witnesses.”

²³ “Now,” Y’hoshua urged, “put away the foreign gods you have among you, and turn your hearts to Adonai, the God of Isra’el.”

²⁴ The people answered Y’hoshua, “We will serve Adonai our God; we will pay attention to what he says.”

²⁵ So Y’hoshua made a covenant with the people that day, laying down for them laws and rulings there in Sh’khem. ²⁶ Y’hoshua wrote these words in the book of the Torah of God. Then he took a big stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of Adonai. ²⁷ Y’hoshua said to all the people, “See, this stone will be a witness against us; because it has heard all the words of Adonai which he said to us; therefore it will be a witness against you, in case you deny your God.” ²⁸ Then Y’hoshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

²⁹ After this, Y’hoshua the son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died; he was 110 years old. ³⁰ They buried him on his property in Timnat-Serach, which is in the hills of Efrayim, north of Mount Ga‘ash.

³¹ Isra’el served Adonai throughout Y’hoshua’s lifetime and throughout the lifetimes of the leaders who outlived Y’hoshua and had known all the deeds that Adonai had done on behalf of Isra’el.

³² The bones of Yosef, which the people of Isra’el had brought up from Egypt, they buried in Sh’khem, in the parcel of ground which Ya‘akov had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Sh’khem for a hundred pieces of silver; and they became a possession of the descendants of Yosef.

³³ Finally, El‘azar the son of Aharon died; and they buried him on the hill belonging to Pinchas his son, which had been given to him in the hills of Efrayim.