Joshua 22:23

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.

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 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.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.