Joshua 22:31

31 And Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, said to them, Now we know, that the Lord is with you; for ye be alien, or guiltless, from this trespassing, and ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand, or punishing, of the Lord.

Joshua 22:31 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:31

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest
As the mouth of the deputation, and in their name:

said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to
the children of Manasseh;
the representatives of them assembled together on this occasion:

this day we perceive that the Lord [is] among us;
his Shechinah, as the Targum; his powerful Presence in preserving their brethren from committing a trespass, as they feared; his gracious Presence smiling upon them; and as the God of peace and order, and not of confusion, uniting and cementing their hearts in love to one another:

because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord;
which they were fearful and jealous of they had, but they found that the Lord had been good and gracious in preserving them from it:

now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the
Lord;
into which they would have fallen, had that been the case, and would have felt the effects of the divine resentment, but now they were secure from them.

Joshua 22:31 In-Context

29 Far be this trespass from us, that we go away from the Lord, and forsake his steps, by an altar builded to burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, and sacrifices of praising to be offered thereon, besides the altar of the Lord our God, that is builded before his tabernacle. (So let this trespass be far from us, that we would ever go away from the Lord, and forsake to follow his steps, with an altar built for burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, and grain offerings to be offered on it, in addition to the altar of the Lord our God, that standeth before his Tabernacle.)

30 And when these things were heard, Phinehas, [the] priest, and [the] princes of the message of Israel, that were with him, were pleased; and they received gladly the words of the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the half lineage of Manasseh. (And when these words were heard, Phinehas, the priest, and the leaders of the families of Israel who were with him, were pleased; and they gladly received the words of the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh.)

31 And Phinehas, the priest, the son of Eleazar, said to them, Now we know, that the Lord is with you; for ye be alien, or guiltless, from this trespassing, and ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand, or punishing, of the Lord.

32 And Phinehas turned again with the princes from the sons of Reuben and of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the coast of Canaan, to the sons of Israel; and he told these things to them.

33 And the word pleased to all men hearing it; and the sons of Israel praised God, and said, that they would no more ascend against them, and fight, and do away the land of their possession. (And this word pleased all who heard it; and the Israelites praised God, and agreed that they would talk no more about going up against the sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and fighting them, and destroying the land of their possession.)