Joshua 22:21-31 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.

CLV⁽ⁱ⁾ 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 El of elohims--Yahweh, the El of elohims--Yahweh, He is knowing, and Israel, he does know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Yahweh (You do not save us this day!. ²³ [we are] building for ourselves an altar to turn back from after Yahweh, and if to cause to go up on it burnt-offering and present, and if to make on it peace-offerings--Yahweh Himself does 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 Yahweh Elohim of Israel? ²⁵ for a border has Yahweh put between us and you, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad--Jordan; you have no portion in Yahweh--and your sons have caused our sons to cease, not to fear Yahweh. 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 Yahweh 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, You have no portion in Yahweh. ²⁸ `And we say, And it has been, when they say [so] unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh, and to turn back to-day from after Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for present, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Yahweh our Elohim, 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 said unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the sons of Manasseh, `To-day we have known that Yahweh [is] in our midst, because you have not committed against Yahweh this trespass--then you have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh..