Josua ma yarura omihoko vyokomuhuka kozoyawo
1 Josua wa woronganisa ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka. 2 Eye we ve raera a tja: “Eṋe mwa tjita oviṋa avihe Moses, omukarere wa Muhona, mbye mu raera, nu mwa kara nonḓuviro komarakiza wandje aehe. 3 Oruveze aruhe ndwi kamu na pu mwa isa Ovaisrael ovakweṋu. Mwa kara nonḓuviro komarakiza wa Muhona, Ndjambi weṋu, nouṱakame. 4 Nambano Muhona, Ndjambi weṋu, wa yandja ohange kOvaisrael ovakweṋu otja tja kwizikire. Opu mamu sokuyaruka kehi, ndi mwe rikamburira ri rire ouini weṋu, ehi, ndi ri munda mbwina na Jordan, ndi mwa pewa i Moses, omukarere wa Muhona. 5 Tjiri, kareye nonḓuviro komaraerero ngu mwa pewa i Moses, ngu maye tja nai: Suvereye Muhona, Ndjambi weṋu, nu mu tjite ombango ye; kareye nonḓuviro komatwako we, nu muṱakame mu ye, nu mu karereye nomitima nominyo vyeṋu avihe.” 6 Josua we ve sera ondaya ne ve esa kutja ve yende. Nowo va yaruka kozoyawo.
7 Moses wa yandjere ehi mObasan korumbembera rumwe romuhoko wa Manasse, nungwari indwi orukwao wokongurova kwa Jordan puna omihoko vyarwe. Nu Josua wa yarura ovandu kozonganda zawo nondaya ye, 8 ame ve raere nai: “Yarukeye kozoyeṋu noutumbe ouingi, okutja ovinamuinyo ovingi, nosilveri nongoldo nongoporo novitenda, nozombanda ozengi. Imbi mbi mwa huura kovanavita na eṋe kahaṋasaneye nOvaisrael ovakweṋu.”
9 Nu imba ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka va yaruka kozoyawo. Va isa otjihupe tjOvaisrael mOsilo mehi ra Kanaan nave i kehi rawo oveni, indi ehi ra Gilead, ndi va kamburire otja Muhona pa rakizire ku Moses.
Otjipunguhiro tji tja tungwa pOjordan
10 Imbwi omuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka tji vya vaza kOgelilot, tji tji ri meṋe ya Jordan, komunda wa Kanaan, va tunga otjipunguhiro otjinene notjihimise, imbo ponḓonḓu. 11 Ihi tja zuvaka kOvaisrael. Nowo va ravaera ave tja: “Purateneye! Ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka va tunga otjipunguhiro mOgelilto komunda wetu wa Jordan.” 12 Ovaisrael tji va zuva nai, otjimbumba atjihe otji tja woronganena mOsilo kutja tji hinge ovita kuna omihoko vyokomuhuka.
13 Ovaisrael va hinda Pinhas, omuzandu womupristeri Eleasar, kovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka mehi ra Gilead. 14 Ovanane omurongo va ya puna Pinhas, okutja omunane umwe momuhoko auhe wa Israel; nu auhe wa ri otjiuru tjeṱunḓu ronganda aihe mOisrael. 15 Owo tji va vaza kOgilead va tja nai kovandu va Ruben nOvagad nOvamanasse: 16 “Ombongo aihe ya Muhona mai tja nai ku eṋe: ‘Okutjavi tji mu ha ri nouṱakame ku Ndjambi wa Israel? Eṋe mwa pirukira Muhona tji mwe ritungira otjipunguhiro; nambano mwa poka ku ye. 17 Kamu nokuzemburuka ourunde wetu mbu twa tjita mOpeor, indu Muhona tja verere ovandu ve nomutjise omuzeu are? Nga ndinondi inga tu hihamisiwa i ouvi mbwi. Ouvi mbwi hapo kapuwo are? 18 Eṋe nambano mamu panḓa okukongorera Muhona are? Tji mamu pirukire Muhona ndinondi, eye muhuka ma ṱomazenge nombongo aihe ya Israel. 19 Ehi reṋu tji ri ri ehakohoke okurikotamena mo ku Muhona, kondeye kehi ra Muhona ku ku nOndanda yOmahakaeneno we. Ritoororereye ehi mokati keṋu; nungwari amu pirukire Muhona, nu amu tu nanene mokupirukira ye, amamu ritungire otjipunguhiro tjarwe posi yotjipunguhiro tja Muhona, Ndjambi wetu. 20 Zemburukeye Akan, omuzandu wa Serak, tje ha ri nonḓuviro komarakiza, nga tjaera oviṋa mbya imbirahiwa konyoneno! Ombongo aihe ya Israel ya vererwa oviṋa mbi momazenge wa Muhona. Ka Akan erike ngwa tira ouvi we.’ ”
21 Ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka va zira nai koviuru vyomaṱunḓu womihoko vya Israel: 22 “Ndjambi eye omunamasa! Eye onguri Muhona! Ndjambi eye omunamasa! Eye onguri Muhona! Eye ma tjiwa kutja twa tjitira tjike nai, neṱe matu vanga kutja eṋe wina mu tjiwe. Ndoovazu twa pirukira Muhona natu ha ṱakama mu ye, eye e tu yama ko okuza ku ndinondi; 23 nu ndoovazu twa kara nokuhinonḓuviro ku Muhona mokuritungira otjipunguhiro tjetu oveni okupunguhira ko ozombunguhiro ozoningiririsiwa poo zovikurya poo zohange, Muhona omuini nga rire ngwe tu vere. 24 Kako! Eṱe twa tjita nao, tjinga atwa tira kutja kombunda ozondekurona zeṋu maze katja nai ku inḓa ozetu: ‘Eṋe mu na ko na tjike na Muhona, Ndjambi wa Israel? 25 Muhona wa twa po onḓonḓu Jordan i rire omuruko pokati ketu na eṋe, imba ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad. Eṋe kamu na ko na tja na Muhona. Komuhingo mbwi ozondekurona zeṋu maze katjaera inḓa ozetu okurikotamena ku Muhona. 26 Eṱe opu twa tungira otjipunguhiro hi, notjo katjozombunguhiro ozoningiririsiwa poo zovinamuinyo, 27 nungwari otjo otjiraisiro kovandu vetu na kovandu veṋu, wina na kozondekurona nḓu maze ya kombunda yetu, kutja tjiri, eṱe tu rikotamena komurungu wa Muhona amatu punguha ozombunguhiro zetu ozoningiririsiwa nozovinamuinyo nozohange, kokutja eyuva rimwe ozondekurona zeṋu aze ha katja nai ku inḓa ozetu: “Eṋe kamu na ko na tja na Muhona.” ’ 28 Eṱe twe ripura kutja tji maape katjitwa nai, ozondekurona zetu maze katja nai: ‘Tareye komatungiro wotjipunguhiro hi, ootate mukururume ve tji tungire tjimuna ihi otja Muhona. Otjo katja ri otjipunguhiro tjozombunguhiro ozoningiririsiwa poo zovinamuinyo, nungwari tja ri otjiraisiro ku eṋe na ku eṱe.’ 29 Eṱe tjiri, katu vangere okupirukira Muhona poo okupoka ku ye mokutunga otjipunguhiro hi tjozombunguhiro ozoningiririsiwa poo zovikurya poo zovinamuinyo. Nu katu vangere okutunga otjipunguhiro tjarwe posi yaihi tja Muhona, Ndjambi wetu, tji tji ri momurungu wOndanda yOmahakaeneno we.”
30 Pinhas, omupristeri, novanane omurongo wombongo, mba ri puna ye, noviuru vya Israel va zuva oviṋa mbya hungirwa i ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Manasse wokomuhuka, nu va kara nohange. 31 Omupristeri Pinhas, omuzandu wa Eleasar, wa tja nai kovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad nowa Manasse wokomuhuka: “Nambano twa tjiwa kutja Ndjambi u ri puna eṱe, eṋe tjinga amu ha pirukirire Muhona. Komuhingo mbwi mwa yama otjiwaṋa tja Israel komberero ya Muhona.”
32 Pinhas na imba ovanane va isa ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad mehi ra Gilead, ave yaruka kOkanaan kOvaisrael nave kaserekarera oviṋa mbi avihe ku wo. 33 Nomaserekarerero wawo ya nyandisa Ovaisrael omitima, nowo va tanga, Ndjambi nave ha uhara amave hungire okuyenda rukwao, ve kanyone indi ehi mu mwa tura ovandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad.
34 Novandu vomuhoko wa Ruben nowa Gad va ruka otjipunguhiro hi kutja “Otjihongonone”, orondu owo va tja nai: “Ihi otjo otjihongonone ku eṱe atuhe kutja Muhona eye onguri Ndjambi.”
Joshua Sends the Eastern Tribes Home
1 Then Joshua called together the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. 2 He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses the Lord's servant ordered you to do, and you have obeyed all my commands. 3 All this time you have never once deserted the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey the commands of the Lord your God. 4 Now, as he promised, the Lord your God has given the other Israelites peace. So go back home to the land which you claimed for your own, the land on the east side of the Jordan, that Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you. 5 Make sure you obey the law that Moses commanded you: love the Lord your God, do his will, obey his commandments, be faithful to him, and serve him with all your heart and soul.” 6-8 Joshua sent them home with his blessing and with these words: “You are going back home very rich, with a lot of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and many clothes. Share with your fellow tribesmen what you took from your enemies.” Then they left for home.
Moses had given land east of the Jordan to one half of the tribe of Manasseh, but to the other half Joshua had given land west of the Jordan, along with the other tribes.
9 So the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh went back home. They left the rest of the people of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and started out for their own land, the land of Gilead, which they had taken as the Lord had commanded them through Moses.
The Altar by the Jordan
10 When the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh arrived at Geliloth, still on the west side of the Jordan, they built a large, impressive altar there by the river. 11 The rest of the people of Israel were told, “Listen! The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh have built an altar at Geliloth, on our side of the Jordan!” 12 When the people of Israel heard this, the whole community came together at Shiloh to go to war against the eastern tribes.
13 Then the people of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh in the land of Gilead. 14 Ten leading men went with Phinehas, one from each of the western tribes and each one the head of a family among the clans. 15 They came to the land of Gilead, to the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh, 16 and speaking for the whole community of the Lord, they said to them, “Why have you done this evil thing against the God of Israel? You have rebelled against the Lord by building this altar for yourselves! You are no longer following him! 17 Remember our sin at Peor, when the Lord punished his own people with an epidemic? We are still suffering because of that. Wasn't that sin enough? 18 Are you going to refuse to follow him now? If you rebel against the Lord today, he will be angry with everyone in Israel tomorrow. 19 Now then, if your land is not fit to worship in, come over into the Lord's land, where his Tent is. Claim some land among us. But don't rebel against the Lord or make rebels out of us by building an altar in addition to the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Remember how Achan son of Zerah refused to obey the command about the things condemned to destruction; the whole community of Israel was punished for that. Achan was not the only one who died because of his sin.”
21 The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh answered the heads of the families of the western tribes: 22 “The Mighty One is God! He is the Lord! The Mighty One is God! He is the Lord! He knows why we did this, and we want you to know too! If we rebelled and did not keep faith with the Lord, do not let us live any longer! 23 If we disobeyed the Lord and built our own altar to burn sacrifices on or to use for grain offerings or fellowship offerings, let the Lord himself punish us. 24 No! We did it because we were afraid that in the future your descendants would say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 He made the Jordan a boundary between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have nothing to do with the Lord.’ Then your descendants might make our descendants stop worshiping the Lord. 26 So we built an altar, not to burn sacrifices or make offerings, 27 but instead, as a sign for our people and yours, and for the generations after us, that we do indeed worship the Lord before his sacred Tent with our offerings to be burned and with sacrifices and fellowship offerings. This was to keep your descendants from saying that ours have nothing to do with the Lord. 28 It was our idea that, if this should ever happen, our descendants could say, ‘Look! Our ancestors made an altar just like the Lord's altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.’ 29 We would certainly not rebel against the Lord or stop following him now by building an altar to burn offerings on or for grain offerings or sacrifices. We would not build any other altar than the altar of the Lord our God that stands in front of the Tent of his presence.”
30 Phinehas the priest and the ten leading men of the community who were with him, the heads of families of the western tribes, heard what the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh had to say, and they were satisfied. 31 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to them, “Now we know that the Lord is with us. You have not rebelled against him, and so you have saved the people of Israel from the Lord's punishment.”
32 Then Phinehas and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and went back to Canaan, to the people of Israel, and reported to them. 33 The Israelites were satisfied and praised God. They no longer talked about going to war to devastate the land where the people of Reuben and Gad had settled.
34 The people of Reuben and Gad said, “This altar is a witness to all of us that the Lord is God.” And so they named it “Witness.”
