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 people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad had much livestock. They saw that the land near Jazer [city] and the Gilead [region east of the Jordan River] had good [grass] for the animals [to graze on].

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

So their leaders came to Eleazar and the other leaders of the people and Moses/me. They said,

3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

“We have a great amount of livestock.

4 [Even] the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, [is] a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:

Yahweh has enabled us Israelis to capture some land that is very good for animals [to graze on]—the land near Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon [towns].

5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, [and] bring us not over Jordan.

If it pleases you, we would like this land to be ours, instead of land on the other side of the Jordan River.”

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

Moses/I replied to the leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben, “It is not right for [RHQ] your fellow Israelis to go to fight in wars and you stay here!

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

[If you do that], you will cause the other Israelis to be discouraged, with the result that they will not cross [the Jordan River] to the land that Yahweh is giving to them [RHQ].

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

Your ancestors did the same kind of thing. I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see what the land [of Canaan] was like.

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

They went as far as Eshcol Valley, but when they saw [the huge people in] the land, [they returned and] caused the Israeli people to be discouraged, saying ‘We should not try to enter the land that Yahweh said that he is giving to us.’

10 And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,

So Yahweh became very angry with them, and he solemnly declared this:

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

‘From all the people who came out of Egypt, the only ones who are at least 20 years old who will see the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are Jephunneh’s son Caleb and Nun’s son Joshua, because they trusted me completely. None of the other people who came out of Egypt will even see that land, because they have not completely believed in my [power].’

12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.

13 And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.

So Yahweh was angry with the Israeli people, and [as a result] he has caused us to wander in this desert for 40 years. Finally, all the people who had sinned against Yahweh [by refusing to trust him] died, [one by one].

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

And you are acting like your ancestors did! You sinful Israeli people are going to cause Yahweh to be more angry with you [than he was with our ancestors]

15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

If you stop trusting him, he will cause you and all your fellow Israelis to stay longer in the desert, and he will get rid of all of you!”

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 [leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad] said to Moses/me, “First we will build pens for our animals and build cities for our families here.

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

Then our families will live in strong cities with walls around them, and they will be safe from the people who live in this land. Then we will get ready to fight battles. We will help the other Israelis to get land [on the other side of the river].

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

We will not return to our homes until every Israeli has received some land.

19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

We will not take any land on the west side of the Jordan [River]; our land will be here on the east side.”

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

So Moses/I told them, “[Okay, I will tell you] what you all must do. You must get ready to fight battles for Yahweh.

21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

You all must cross the Jordan [River] carrying your weapons.

22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.

After Yahweh helps us to take that land [from the people who live there], you will be permitted to return to your homes. You will have done what you have promised Yahweh and the Israeli people that you would do, and you may keep this land to be your own, given to you by Yahweh.

23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

“But if you do not do these things, you will be sinning against Yahweh, and he will punish you for [that] sin.

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

Now you can build cities for your families and pens for your animals, but after doing that, you must do what you have promised.”

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

The leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We will do what you have asked us to do [MTY], because you are our leader.

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

Our wives and children and our cattle and sheep and goats will stay here in the cities in the Gilead area,

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

but we will prepare to go to battle. We will take our weapons and go across [the Jordan River] and fight for Yahweh, just as you, our leader, have said.”

28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:

So Moses/I gave instructions about them to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the Israeli tribes.

29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man 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/I said to them, “If the men from the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan [River] with you, in order to do what Yahweh desires and help you to take that land, give them the Gilead area to belong to them.

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 do not take their weapons and go with you prepared to fight, they will not receive this land. They will need to accept some land in Canaan, like the rest of you will do.”

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 [leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben] replied, “We will do what you have said and what Yahweh has said.

32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan [may be] ours.

We will cross the river into Canaan land, and we will do what Yahweh desires and be prepared for battle. But our land will be [here] on the east side of the Jordan [River].”

33 And Moses gave unto them, [even] to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto 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, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, [even] the cities of the country round about.

So Moses/I agreed to give that land to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and to half of the tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh. That land was previously the land where Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, ruled, and the land where Og, the king of Bashan [region], ruled, including its cities and surrounding land.

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

The people of the tribe of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

36 And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.

Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran cities. Those were cities with strong walls around them. And they also built pens for their sheep.

37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

The people of the tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

38 And Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed, ) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.

Nebo, Baal-Meon, and Sibmah cities. When they rebuilt Nebo and Baal-Meon, they gave new names to those cities.

39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which [was] in it.

The descendants of Manasseh’s son Makir went to the Gilead [region] and compelled the people of the Amor people-group to leave that area.

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

So Moses/I gave Gilead to the family of Makir, and they started to live there.

41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-jair.

Jair, who was also a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured the small towns in that region, and he named them the Towns of Jair.

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

A man named Nobah went and captured Kenath [city] and the nearby towns, and then he put his own name to be the new name of that area.