¹ `These [are] the statutes and the judgments which ye observe to do in the land which Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath given to thee to possess it, all the days that ye are living on the ground:

² ye do utterly destroy all the places where the nations which ye are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the heights, and under every green tree;

³ and ye have broken down their altars, and shivered their standing pillars, and their shrines ye burn with fire, and graven images of their gods ye cut down, and have destroyed their name out of that place.

⁴ `Ye do not do so to Jehovah your God;

⁵ but unto the place which Jehovah your God doth choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, to His tabernacle ye seek, and thou hast entered thither,

⁶ and hast brought in thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;

⁷ and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.

⁸ `Ye do not do according to all that we are doing here to-day, each anything that is right in his own eyes,

⁹ for ye have not come in hitherto unto the rest, and unto the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;

¹⁰ and ye have passed over the Jordan, and have dwelt in the land which Jehovah your God is causing you to inherit, and He hath given rest to you from all your enemies round about, and ye have dwelt confidently:

¹¹ `And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah;

¹² and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who [is] within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.

¹³ `Take heed to thee, lest thou cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend in any place which thou seest,

¹⁴ except in the place which Jehovah doth choose in one of thy tribes, there thou dost cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend, and there thou dost do all that which I am commanding thee.

¹⁵ `Only, with all the desire of thy soul thou dost sacrifice, and hast eaten flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which He hath given to thee, in all thy gates; the unclean and the clean do eat it, as of the roe, and as of the hart.

¹⁶ `Only, the blood ye do not eat -- on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

¹⁷ thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand;

¹⁸ but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who [is] within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;

¹⁹ take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.

²⁰ `When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh -- for thy soul desireth to eat flesh -- of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.

²¹ `When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;

²² only, as the roe and the hart is eaten, so dost thou eat it; the unclean and the clean doth alike eat it.

²³ `Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood [is] the life, and thou dost not eat the life with the flesh;

²⁴ thou dost not eat it, on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

²⁵ thou dost not eat it, in order that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, when thou dost that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah.

²⁶ `Only, thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou dost take up, and hast gone in unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,

²⁷ and thou hast made thy burnt-offerings -- the flesh and the blood -- on the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices is poured out by the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh thou dost eat.

²⁸ Observe, and thou hast obeyed all these words which I am commanding thee, in order that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee -- to the age, when thou dost that which [is] good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

²⁹ `When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations -- whither thou art going in to possess them -- from thy presence, and thou hast possessed them, and hast dwelt in their land --

³⁰ take heed to thee, lest thou be snared after them, after their being destroyed out of thy presence, and lest thou enquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, and I do so -- even I?

³¹ `Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.

³² The whole thing which I am commanding you -- it ye observe to do; thou dost not add unto it, nor diminish from it.

¹ Then Joshua calleth for the Reubenite, and for the Gadite, and for the half of the tribe of Manasseh,

² and saith unto them, `Ye -- ye have kept the whole of that which Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded you, and ye hearken to my voice, to all that I have commanded you;

³ ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, and have kept the charge -- the command of Jehovah your God.

⁴ `And, now, Jehovah your God hath given rest to your brethren, as He spake to them; and now, turn ye, and go for yourselves to your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses, servant of Jehovah, hath given to you beyond the Jordan.

⁵ Only, be very watchful to do the command and the law which Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded you, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, and to cleave to Him, and to serve Him, with all your heart, and with all your soul.'

⁶ And Joshua blesseth them, and sendeth them away, and they go unto their tents.

⁷ And to the half of the tribe of Manasseh hath Moses given, in Bashan, and to its [other] half hath Joshua given with their brethren beyond the Jordan westward; and also when Joshua hath sent them away unto their tents, then he doth bless them,

⁸ and speak unto them, saying, `With great riches turn ye back unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.'

⁹ And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, turn back and go from the sons of Israel out of Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan, to go unto the land of Gilead, unto the land of their possession, in which they have possession, according to the command of Jehovah, by the hand of Moses;

¹⁰ and they come in unto the districts of the Jordan, which [are] in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, build there an altar by the Jordan -- a great altar for appearance.

¹¹ And the sons of Israel hear, saying, `Lo, the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, have built the altar over-against the land of Canaan, on the districts of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel.'

¹² And the sons of Israel hear, and all the company of the sons of Israel is assembled at Shiloh, to go up against them to war;

¹³ and the sons of Israel send unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the half of the tribe of Manasseh -- unto the land of Gilead -- Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest,

¹⁴ and ten princes with him, one prince, one prince, for a house of a father, for all the tribes of Israel, and each of them a head of a house of their fathers, for the thousands of Israel.

¹⁵ And they come in unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the half of the tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and speak with them, saying,

¹⁶ `Thus said all the company of Jehovah, What [is] this trespass which ye have trespassed against the God of Israel, to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, by your building for you an altar, for your rebelling to-day against Jehovah?

¹⁷ Is the iniquity of Peor little to us, from which we have not been cleansed till this day -- and the plague is in the company of Jehovah,

¹⁸ that ye turn back to-day from after Jehovah? and it hath been -- ye rebel to-day against Jehovah -- and to-morrow against all the company of Israel He is wroth.

¹⁹ `And surely, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over for you unto the land of the possession of Jehovah, where the tabernacle of Jehovah hath tabernacled, and have possession in our midst; and against Jehovah rebel not, and against us rebel not, by your building for you an altar, besides the altar of Jehovah our God.

²⁰ Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and on all the company of Israel there was wrath? and he alone expired not in his iniquity.'

²¹ And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, answer and speak with the heads of the thousands of Israel:

²² `The God of gods -- Jehovah, the God of gods -- Jehovah, He is knowing, and Israel, he doth know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Jehovah (Thou dost not save us this day!)

²³ [we are] building for ourselves an altar to turn back from after Jehovah, and if to cause to go up on it burnt-offering and present, and if to make on it peace-offerings -- Jehovah Himself doth require [it].

²⁴ `And if not, from fear of [this] thing we have done it, saying, Hereafter your sons do speak to ours sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah God of Israel?

²⁵ for a border hath Jehovah put between us and you, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad -- Jordan; ye have no portion in Jehovah -- and your sons have caused our sons to cease, not to fear Jehovah.

²⁶ `And we say, Pray let us prepare for ourselves to build the altar -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice --

²⁷ but a witness it [is] between us and you, and between our generations after us, to do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, and your sons do not say hereafter to our sons, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.

²⁸ `And we say, And it hath been, when they say [so] unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it [is] between us and you.

²⁹ `Far be it from us to rebel against Jehovah, and to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for present, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Jehovah our God, which [is] before His tabernacle.'

³⁰ And Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the company, and the heads of the thousands of Israel, who [are] with him, hear the words which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh have spoken, and it is good in their eyes.

³¹ And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest saith unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the sons of Manasseh, `To-day we have known that Jehovah [is] in our midst, because ye have not committed against Jehovah this trespass -- then ye have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.'

³² And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, turn back from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, unto the sons of Israel, and bring them back word;

³³ and the thing is good in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel bless God, and have not said to go up against them to war, to destroy the land which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, are dwelling in.

³⁴ And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad proclaim concerning the altar, that `it [is] a witness between us that Jehovah [is] God.'