Joshua 22:21-31 But the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Menasseh answered, and they spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,

Leeser⁽ⁱ⁾ ²¹ But the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Menasseh answered, and they spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, ²² The God of gods, the Eternal, the God of gods, the Eternal, he knoweth, and Israel also shall know: if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the Lord, aid us not this day, ²³ That we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meat-offering, or if to offer thereon peace-offerings, may the Lord himself require it; ²⁴ Or whether we have not done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might say unto our children, as followeth, What have ye to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord hath made a boundary between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad,—the Jordan; ye have no part in the Lord: thus might your children make our children cease so as not to fear the Lord. ²⁶ Wherefore we said, Let us now act for ourselves to build this altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; ²⁷ But it shall be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our, peace-offerings; and that your children may not say in time to come to our children, Ye have no portion in the Lord. ²⁸ And we said, that it shall be when they should say this to us and to our generations in time to come, that we may say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you. ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for meat-offering, or for sacrifice, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before his dwelling. ³⁰ And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Menasseh had spoken, it was pleasing in their eyes. ³¹ And Phinehas the son of Elazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Menasseh, This day do we know that the Lord is in our midst, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord: now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.