约书亚记 22:24

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

我們作這事，實在是有理由的，因為顧慮將來你們的子孫對我們的子孫說：‘你們與耶和華以色列的　神有甚麼關係呢？

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
我 们 行 这 事 并 非 无 故 ， 是 特 意 做 的 ， 说 ： 恐 怕 日 後 你 们 的 子 孙 对 我 们 的 子 孙 说 ： 你 们 与 耶 和 华 ─ 以 色 列 的 　 神 有 何 关 涉 呢 ？

Contextual Overview

²¹ The people from Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh answered, ²² "The Lord is God of gods! The Lord is God of gods! God knows, and we want you to know also. If we have done something wrong, you may kill us. ²³ If we broke God's law, we ask the Lord himself to punish us. We did not build this altar to offer burnt offerings or grain and fellowship offerings. ²⁴ "We did not build it for that reason. We feared that someday your people would not accept us as part of your nation. Then they might say, ‘You cannot worship the Lord , the God of Israel. ²⁵ The Lord made the Jordan River a border between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You cannot worship the Lord .' So we feared that your children might make our children stop worshiping the Lord . ²⁶ "That is why we decided to build this altar. But it is not for burnt offerings and sacrifices. ²⁷ This altar is proof to you and us and to all our children who will come after us that we worship the Lord with our whole burnt offerings, grain, and fellowship offerings. This was so your children would not say to our children, ‘You are not the Lord 's.' ²⁸ "In the future if your children say that, our children can say, ‘See the altar made by our ancestors. It is exactly like the Lord 's altar, but we do not use it for sacrifices. It shows that we are part of Israel.' ²⁹ "Truly, we don't want to be against the Lord or to stop following him by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. We know the only true altar to the Lord our God is in front of the Holy Tent."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for fear: Genesis 18:19

In time to come: Heb. To-morrow, Joshua 4:6, Genesis 30:33, Exodus 13:14, Deuteronomy 6:20, *marg.

Reciprocal: Psalms 78:6 - who

Cross-References

Genesis 16:3
It was after he had lived ten years in Canaan that Sarai gave Hagar to her husband Abram. (Hagar was her slave girl from Egypt.)

Genesis 25:6
But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives, then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.

Proverbs 15:25
The Lord will tear down the proud person's house, but he will protect the widow's property.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if we have not [rather] done it for fear of [this] thing,.... So far they suggest were they from doing this, in order to turn from the pure worship of God, and introduce idolatrous worship, that it was to guard against everything of that kind for the future; and through fear of it, and anxiety and distress of mind, lest some time or another there should be any temptation to it in their posterity, had they built this altar:

saying, in time to come your children might speak unto our children; or "tomorrow" m, in a short time after your heads, and ours, are laid in the grave, your posterity will accost us:

saying, what have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? you are aliens and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel, live in a foreign land, and not in the land, of Canaan; are separated from us by the river Jordan, are a different people from us, and have nothing to do with the tabernacle of the Lord, and the service of it, or with the altar of the Lord, to offer sacrifice on it. Now as they returned to their own country, or when got there, such anxious thoughts and fears rose up in their minds, which they communicated to one another, and thought of this expedient to prevent what would be so fatal to their posterity. The Targum is,

"you have no part in the Word of the Lord God of Israel;''

see John 13:8.

m מחר "cras", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 22:24. For fear of this thing — The motive that actuated us was directly the reverse of that of which we have been suspected.