Numbers 32

1 And much livestock has [belonged] to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad—very many; and they see the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place [is] a place [for] livestock;

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,

2 and the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben come in and speak to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying,

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

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

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

4 the land which YHWH has struck before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”

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.

5 And they say, “If we have found grace in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants for a possession; cause us not to pass over the Jordan.”

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.”

6 And Moses says to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Do your brothers go to the battle, and you—do you sit here?

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

7 And why discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from passing over to the land which YHWH has given to them?

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?

8 Thus your fathers did in my sending them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land;

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

9 and they go up to the Valley of Eshcol, and see the land, and discourage the heart of the sons of Israel so as not to go into the land which YHWH has given to them;

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.

10 and the anger of YHWH burns in that day, and He swears, saying,

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

11 They do not see—the men who are coming up out of Egypt from a son of twenty years and upward—the ground which I have sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, for they have not been fully after Me,

‘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,

12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenezite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have been fully after YHWH;

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

13 and the anger of YHWH burns against Israel, and He causes them to wander in the wilderness [for] forty years, until the consumption of all the generation which is doing evil in the eyes of YHWH.

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.

14 And behold, you have risen in the stead of your fathers, an increase of sinful men, to add yet to the fury of the anger of YHWH toward Israel;

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.

15 when you turn back from after Him, then He has added yet to leave him in the wilderness, and you have done corruptly to all this people.”

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.”

16 And they come near to him and say, “We build folds for the flock here for our livestock, and cities for our infants;

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

17 but we are armed, hastening before the sons of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our infants have dwelt in the cities of defense because of the inhabitants of the land;

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.

18 we do not return to our houses until the sons of Israel have each inherited his inheritance,

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

19 for we do not inherit with them across the Jordan and beyond, for our inheritance has come to us beyond the Jordan at the [sun]-rising.”

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

20 And Moses says to them, “If you do this thing, if you are armed before YHWH for battle,

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

21 and every armed one of you has passed over the Jordan before YHWH, until His dispossessing His enemies from before Him,

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

22 and the land has been subdued before YHWH, then afterward you return, and have been acquitted by YHWH and by Israel, and this land has been to you for a possession before YHWH.

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.

23 And if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against YHWH, and know that your sin finds you;

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.

24 build for yourselves cities for your infants and folds for your flock, and that which is going out from your mouth you do.”

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

25 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben speak to Moses, saying, “Your servants do as my lord is commanding;

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

26 our infants, our wives, our livestock, and all our beasts, are there in cities of Gilead,

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

27 and your servants pass over, every armed one of the host, before YHWH, to battle, as my lord is saying.”

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

28 And Moses commands Eleazar the priest, and Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel concerning them;

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:

29 and Moses says to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben pass over the Jordan with you, everyone armed for battle, before YHWH, and the land has been subdued before you, then you have given the land of Gilead to them for a possession;

“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.

30 and if they do not pass over armed with you, then they have possessions in your midst in the land of Canaan.”

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.”

31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answer, saying, “That which YHWH has spoken to your servants, so we do;

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

32 we pass over armed before YHWH [to] the land of Canaan, and with us [is] the possession of our inheritance beyond the Jordan.”

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.”

33 And Moses gives to them—to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Reuben, and to the half of the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorite and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land by its cities, in the borders, the cities of the surrounding land.

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.

34 And the sons of Gad build Dihon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

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

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

and Atroth and Shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,

36 and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran, cities of defense, and sheepfolds.

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

37 And the sons of Reuben have built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

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

38 and Nebo, and Ba‘al-Meon (changed in name), and Shibmah, and they call the names of the cities which they have built by [these] names.

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

39 And sons of Machir son of Manasseh go to Gilead, and capture it, and dispossess the Amorite who [is] in it;

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

40 and Moses gives Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he dwells in it.

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

41 And Jair son of Manasseh has gone and captures their towns, and calls them “Towns of Jair”;

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

42 and Nobah has gone and captures Kenath and its villages, and calls it Nobah, by his own name.

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