Numbers 32

1 Now the sons of Ruben and of Gad had many herds, and their substance in cattle was inestimable. And when they had seen that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for feeding animals,

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a great number of cattle: and when they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle;

2 they went to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the multitude, and they said:

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the meeting,

3 “Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

4 the land, which the Lord has struck in the sight of the sons of Israel, is a very fertile region for pasturing animals. And we, your servants, have very many cattle.

The land which the Lord gave into the hands of the children of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle.

5 And so we beseech you, if we have found favor before you, that you give it to us, your subjects, as a possession, and that you not cause us cross the Jordan.”

And they said, With your approval, let this land be given to your servants as their heritage: do not take us over Jordan.

6 And Moses answered them: “Should your brothers go to battle, while you sit here?

And Moses said to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben, Are your brothers to go to the war, while you take your rest here?

7 Why do you subvert the minds of the sons of Israel, so that they might not dare to cross into the place which the Lord will give to them?

Why would you take from the children of Israel the desire to go over into the land which the Lord has given them?

8 Did not your fathers act in the same way, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to explore the land?

So did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.

9 And when they had gone all the way to the Valley of the Cluster of Grapes, having viewed the entire region, they subverted the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they would not enter into the parts that the Lord gave to them.

For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they took from the children of Israel the desire to go into the land which the Lord had given them.

10 And being angry, the Lord swore an oath, saying:

And at that time the Lord was moved to wrath, and made an oath, saying,

11 ‘These men, who ascended out of Egypt, from twenty years and above, will not see the land, which I have promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For they were not willing to follow me,

Truly, not one of the men of twenty years old and over who came out of Egypt will see the land which I gave by oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; because they have not been true to me with all their heart;

12 except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; these have fulfilled my will.’

But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua, the son of Nun: because they have been true to the Lord.

13 And the Lord, being angry against Israel, led them in a course through the desert for forty years, until the entire generation, which had done evil in his sight, was consumed.

Then the Lord was angry with Israel, and he made them wanderers in the waste land for forty years? till all that generation who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord was dead.

14 And behold,” he said, “you have risen up in the place of your fathers, the offshoots and the nurslings of sinful men, in order to augment the fury of the Lord against Israel.

And now you have come to take the place of your fathers, another generation of sinners, increasing the wrath of the Lord against Israel.

15 But if you are not willing to follow him, he will leave the people behind in the wilderness, and you will have been the cause of all our deaths.”

For if you are turned away from him, he will send them wandering again in the waste land; and you will be the cause of the destruction of all this people.

16 But approaching closer, they said: “We will manufacture sheep pens and cattle stalls, as well as fortified cities, for our little ones.

Then they came to him, and said, We will make safe places for our cattle here, and towns for our little ones;

17 But we ourselves will continue on, armed and girded for battle, before the sons of Israel, until we lead them to their places. Our little ones, and whatever we may be able to have, shall be in walled cities, because of the treachery of the inhabitants.

But we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel till we have taken them to their place: but our little ones will be safe in the walled towns against the people of the land.

18 We will not return to our houses, even until the sons of Israel may possess their inheritance.

We will not come back to our houses till every one of the children of Israel has come into his heritage.

19 Neither will we seek anything across the Jordan, because we already have our possession on its eastern side.”

For we will not have our heritage with them on the other side of Jordan and forward; because our heritage has come to us on this side of Jordan to the east.

20 And Moses said to them: “If you accomplish what you have promised, you may go out, equipped for battle, before the Lord.

Then Moses said to them, If you will do this, arming yourselves to go before the Lord to the war,

21 And let every fighting man cross over the Jordan, until the Lord overthrows his enemies,

Every armed man of you going across Jordan before the Lord till he has overcome and sent in flight all who are against him,

22 and all the land is subjected to him. Then you will be guiltless with the Lord and with Israel, and you will obtain the regions which you desire before the Lord.

And the land is under the rule of the Lord: then after that you may come back, having done no wrong to the Lord and to Israel; and this land will be yours for your heritage before the Lord.

23 But if you do not do what you have said, no one could doubt that you will have sinned against God. And know this: your sin shall overtake you.

But if you do not do this, then you are sinners against the Lord; and you may be certain that your sin will have its reward.

24 Therefore, build cities for your little ones, and pens and stables for your sheep and cattle; and fulfill what you have promised.”

So get to work building your towns for your little ones, and safe places for your sheep; and do as you have said.

25 And the sons of Gad and of Ruben said to Moses: “We are your servants, we shall do what you, our ruler, orders.

And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben said to Moses, Your servants will do as my lord says.

26 We will leave behind our little ones, and our wives, and the sheep and cattle, in the cities of Gilead.

Our little ones, our wives, and our flocks, and all our cattle, will be there in the towns of Gilead;

27 And we, your servants, all well-equipped, will go forth to battle, just as you, our ruler, has spoken.”

But your servants will go over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to the fight, as my lord says.

28 Therefore, Moses instructed Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes of the families throughout the tribes of Israel, and he said to them:

So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of families of the tribes of the children of Israel.

29 “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben cross over the Jordan with you, all armed for war before the Lord, and if the land becomes subject to you, give them Gilead as a possession.

And Moses said to them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben go with you over Jordan, every man armed for the fight before the Lord, and all the land is given into your hands, then let them have the land of Gilead for a heritage:

30 But if they are not willing to cross with you, armed, into the land of Canaan, then let them receive places among you for their dwellings.”

But if they do not go over with you armed, they will have to take their heritage with you in the land of Canaan.

31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben responded: “Just as the Lord has spoken to his servants, so shall we do.

Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben said, As the Lord has said to your servants, so will we do.

32 We will go forth, armed, before the Lord into the land of Canaan; and we acknowledge that we have already received our possession across the Jordan.”

We will go over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and you will give us our heritage on this side of Jordan.

33 And so, Moses gave to the sons of Gad and of Ruben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and their land with its surrounding cities.

So Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan, all the land with its towns and the country round them.

34 Therefore, the sons of Gad built up Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

And the children of Gad were the builders of Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer;

35 and Atroth and Shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,

And Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah;

36 and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran, as fortified cities with pens for their cattle.

And Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran: walled towns and shut-in places for sheep.

37 Yet truly, the sons of Ruben built up Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,

And the children of Reuben were the builders of Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim;

38 and Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names having been changed) and Sibmah, appointing names for the cities which they had built.

And Nebo and Baal-meon, (their names being changed, ) and Sibmah: and they gave other names to the towns they made.

39 Moreover, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, continued on within Gilead, and they devastated it, putting to death its inhabitant, the Amorite.

And the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and took it, driving out the Amorites who were living there.

40 Therefore, Moses gave the land of Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it.

And Moses gave Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh; and he made it his living-place.

41 But Jair, the son of Manasseh, went out and occupied its villages, which he called Havoth Jair, that is, the Villages of Jair.

And Jair, the son of Manasseh, went and took the towns of Gilead, naming them Havvoth-Jair.

42 Likewise, Nobah went forth and captured Kenath with its villages. And he called it by his own name, Nobah.

And Nobah went and took Kenath and its small towns, naming it Nobah, after himself.