Joshua 约书亚记22

 
22Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh
2and said to them, "You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded.
3For a long time now-to this very day-you have not deserted² your brothers but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you.
4Now that the Lord your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.
5But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."
6Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes.
7(To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan with their brothers.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,
8saying, "Return to your homes with your great wealth-with large herds³ of livestock⁴, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing-and divide with your brothers the plunder⁵ from your enemies."
9So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.
10When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing⁶ altar there by the Jordan.
11And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side,
12the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.
13So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead-to Reuben, Gad¹ and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
14With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans⁷.
15When they went to Gilead-to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh-they said to them:
16"The whole assembly of the Lord says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?
17Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed⁸ ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord !
18And are you now turning away from the Lord ? " 'If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel.
19If the land you possess is defiled⁹, come over to the Lord 's land, where the Lord 's tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God.
20When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted¹⁰ things, did not wrath¹¹ come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.' "
21Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel:
22"The Mighty¹² One, God, the Lord ! The Mighty One, God, the Lord ! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord , do not spare us this day.
23If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.
24"No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the Lord , the God of Israel?
25The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you-you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord .' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord .
26"That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar-but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.'
27On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary¹³ with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the Lord .'
28"And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica¹⁴ of the Lord 's altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.'
29"Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle."
30When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community-the heads of the clans of the Israelites-heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased.
31And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, "Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord 's hand."
32Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites.
33They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate¹⁵ the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.
34And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.

1 gad   

n.闲逛；v.闲逛

参考例句：

• He is always on the gad.他老是闲荡作乐。
• Let it go back into the gloaming and gad with a lot of longing.就让它回到暮色中，满怀憧憬地游荡吧。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

4 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

5 plunder   

vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠

参考例句：

• The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
• Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。

6 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

7 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

8 cleansed   

弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The nurse cleansed the wound before stitching it. 护士先把伤口弄干净后才把它缝合。
• The notorious Hell Row was burned down in a fire, and much dirt was cleansed away. 臭名远场的阎王路已在一场大火中化为乌有，许多焦土灰烬被清除一空。

9 defiled   

v.玷污( defile的过去式和过去分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进

参考例句：

• Many victims of burglary feel their homes have been defiled. 许多家门被撬的人都感到自己的家被玷污了。
• I felt defiled by the filth. 我觉得这些脏话玷污了我。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

12 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

13 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

14 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

15 devastate   

v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒

参考例句：

• A few days before,a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.几天前，温莎城堡的大部分被一场大火烧毁。
• Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis,which devastate coastal regions.地震还引发海啸，它直接破坏海岸地区。