Numbers 32

1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle,

The tribes of Reuben and Gad had large numbers of livestock and saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead was a good place to rear them.

2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying:

So they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite leaders and said,

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

“The towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,

4 the land which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.'

which the Lord conquered in full view of the Israelites, are well-suited for the livestock that we your servants own.”

5 And they said: 'If we have found favour in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.'

They continued, “Please respond to our request favorably: give us this land. Don't make us cross the Jordan.”

6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: 'Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here?

In reply Moses asked the tribes of Gad and Reuben, “Are you expecting your brothers to go and fight while you just sit here?

7 And wherefore will ye turn away the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?

Why discourage the Israelites from crossing into the country that the Lord has given them?

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

This is just what your fathers did when I sent them out from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land.

9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they turned away the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

After your fathers traveled up the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the Israelites, persuading them not to enter the country that the Lord had given them.

10 And the LORD'S anger was kindled in that day, and He swore, saying:

As a result, they made the Lord very angry that day, and he swore this oath,

11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed Me;

‘Not a single one of those I saved from Egypt who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they were not completely committed to me—

12 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed the LORD.

no one except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they were completely committed to me.’

13 And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

The Lord was angry with Israel, and made them wander around in the desert for forty years, until the whole generation who had done evil in his sight had died.

14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, a brood of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.

Now look at you, you brood of sinners who have come to take your fathers' place to make the Lord even angrier with Israel!

15 For if ye turn away from after Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and so ye will destroy all this people.'

If you give up following him, he will abandon these people in the desert once again, and their deaths will be your fault!”

16 And they came near unto him, and said: 'We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones;

Then the tribes of Gad and Reuben came to Moses and told him, “We would plan to build stone walls to keep our livestock safe and towns for our children.

17 but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

But we will still get ourselves ready for battle, and we will be prepared to lead the Israelites until they can safely occupy their land. In the meantime, our children will stay behind, living in the fortified towns to protect them from the local people.

18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.

We won't return to our homes until every Israelite is in possession of their allotted land.

19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.'

However, we won't own any land on the other side of the Jordan because we've received this land to own on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

20 And Moses said unto them: 'If ye will do this thing: if ye will arm yourselves to go before the LORD to the war,

Moses responded, “If this is what you will actually do, if you will get yourselves ready for battle under the Lord's direction,

21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until He hath driven out His enemies from before Him,

and if all your troops cross the Jordan with the Lord until he has driven out his enemies ahead of him,

22 and the land be subdued before the LORD, and ye return afterward; then ye shall be clear before the LORD, and before Israel, and this land shall be unto you for a possession before the LORD.

then once the country is conquered with the Lord's help then you may return, and you will have fulfilled your obligations to the Lord and to Israel. You will own this land, granted to you by the Lord.

23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD; and know ye your sin which will find you.

But if you fail to do this, you will clearly be sinning against the Lord, and the consequences of your sin will catch up with you.

24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.'

Go ahead and build towns for your children and stone walls for your flocks, but make sure you do what you've promised!”

25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.

The tribes of Gad and Reuben promised Moses, “Sir, we your servants will do just as you have ordered.

26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;

Our wives and children, our livestock and all our animals, will all remain here in the towns of Gilead.

27 but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.'

But we your servants are ready for battle, and all our troops will cross over to fight with the Lord's help, just as you have said, sir.”

28 So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.

Moses gave the following instructions about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the family leaders of the tribes of Israel.

29 And Moses said unto them: 'If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession;

Moses told them, “If the tribes of Gadites and Reuben cross the Jordan with you, with all their troops ready for battle with the Lord's help, and the land is conquered as you advance, then give them the land of Gilead to own.

30 but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.'

But if they don't get themselves ready for battle and cross over with you, then they must accept their allotted land among you in the country of Canaan.”

31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: 'As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.

The tribes of Gad and Reuben responded, “We will do just as the Lord has told us, your servants.

32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.'

We will cross over and enter the country of Canaan ready for battle with the Lord's help, so that we may have our allotted share of land on this side of the Jordan.”

33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities thereof with their borders, even the cities of the land round about.

So Moses gave to the tribes of Gad and Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan. This land included its towns and their surrounding area.

34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer;

The people of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

35 and Atroth-shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah;

Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

36 and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran; fortified cities, and folds for sheep.

Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns, and they built stone walls for their flocks.

37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim;

The people of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

38 and Nebo, and Baal-meon — their names being changed — and Sibmah; and gave their names unto the cities which they builded.

as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (changing their names), and Sibmah. In fact they renamed those towns they rebuilt.

39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.

The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, attacked Gilead and captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there.

40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

So Moses gave Gilead to the family of Machir, son of Manasseh, and they settled there.

41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the villages thereof, and called them Havvoth-jair.

Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, attacked their villages and captured them. He named them the Villages of Jair.

42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Nobah attacked Kenath and captured it, along with its villages. He named it Nobah after himself.