19. If you consider the land you now possess unclean, cross over to the land the Lord possesses, where the tabernacle of the Lord stands, and share that with us. But do not rebel against the Lord, nor involve us in rebellion, by building an altar of your own in addition to the altar of the Lord, our God.
20. When Achan, son of Zerah, acted treacherously by violating the ban, was it not upon the entire community of Israel that wrath fell? Though he was but a single man, he did not perish alone for his guilt!”
21. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the Israelite clans:
22. “The Lord is the God of gods. The Lord, the God of gods, knows and Israel shall know. If now we have acted out of rebellion or treachery against the Lord, our God, do not try to save us this day,
23. and if we have built an altar of our own to turn from following the Lord, or to sacrifice burnt offerings, grain offerings, or communion sacrifices upon it, the Lord himself will exact the penalty.
24. We did it rather out of our anxious concern lest in the future your children should say to our children: ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?
25. For the Lord has placed the Jordan as a boundary between you and us, you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the Lord.’ Thus your children would prevent ours from revering the Lord.
26. So we thought, ‘Let us act for ourselves by building this altar of our own’—not for burnt offerings or sacrifice,
27. but as witness between us and you and our descendants, that we have the right to provide for the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and communion sacrifices. Now in the future your children cannot say to our children, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’