¹⁵ Those leaders went to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Those tribes were in the land of Gilead. The leaders said to them, ¹⁶ “We’re speaking for the Lord’s whole community. How could you disobey the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord? How could you disobey him by building an altar for yourselves? ¹⁷ Don’t you remember how we sinned at Peor? The Lord struck us with a plague because of what we did. Up to this day we’re still suffering because of that sin.