Joshua 22:23

23 If we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from Him and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice peace offerings on it, may the LORD Himself hold us accountable.

Joshua 22:23 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 22:23

That we have built us an altar, to turn from following the
Lord
That is, we desire, as we deserve, to be cut to pieces, and not saved, if it should appear to be our view, in building this altar, to revolt from the pure worship of God:

or if to offer thereon burnt offering, or meat offering, or if to
offer peace offerings;
even to the Lord himself: they declare that as they had no design to apostatize from God, and worship idols, so it was not their intention to offer any kind of sacrifice on the altar they had built, even to the Lord himself; and they take notice of every kind of offering, to remove every charge of this sort from them, and to purge themselves of every imputation of this nature: then

let the Lord himself require [it];
seek it out, who is the omniscient God, and revenge it, who is the Lord God Almighty, just and true.

Joshua 22:23 In-Context

21 Then the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the clans of Israel:
22 “The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today.
23 If we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from Him and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice peace offerings on it, may the LORD Himself hold us accountable.
24 But in fact we have done this for fear that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?
25 For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the LORD!’ So your descendants could cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.
The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially placed into the public domain