Numbers 32

1 Now, much cattle, had come into the possession of the sons of Reuben and of the sons of Gad, an exceeding mighty number. And when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, lo! 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 So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came in, —and spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of assembly, saying,

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

3 As touching Ataroth and Dibon, and Jazer and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, —and Sebam and Nebo, and Beon-

“We have a great amount of livestock.

4 the land which Yahweh smote before the assembly of Israel, a land for cattle, it is, —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 And they said—If we have found favour in thine eyes, let this land be given unto thy servants, for a possession, —do not take us over the 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 Then said Moses unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Reuben, —Shall, your brethren, go into the war, and ye, settle down 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 Wherefore, then, should ye dissuade the heart of the sons of Israel, from passing over into the land which Yahweh hath given to 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 view 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 and they went up as far as the ravine of Eschol, and viewed the land, and then dissuaded the heart of the sons of Israel from entering into the land, which Yahweh 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 Then was the anger of Yahweh kindled on that day, —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 upwards, shall see the soil, which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob, because they have not followed after me fully;

‘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 son of Jephunneh, the Kenezite, and Joshua, son of Nun, —for they followed after Yahweh, fully.

13 So the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel, and he made them wander in the desert, forty years, —until all the generation who had done the evil in the eyes of Yahweh, had wasted away!

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 Lo! therefore, ye have arisen in the room of your fathers, a brood of sinful men, —to heap up yet more upon the heat of the anger of Yahweh, towards 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 If ye do turn away from following him, then will he yet again leave them behind in the desert, —so shall ye bring destruction upon 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 Then came they near unto him, and said, Folds, for flocks, would we build for our cattle, here, —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, would arm ourselves promptly, before the sons of Israel, until that we have brought them into their place, —so should our little ones remain in the fortified 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 would not return unto our houses, —until the sons of Israel have possessed themselves each man, of his inheritance.

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

19 For we would not inherit with them, over the Jordan, and onwards, —because our inheritance hath come unto us on this side the Jordan towards sunrise.

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 indeed do this thing, —if ye will arm yourselves, before Yahweh, for the 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 every armed man of you pass over the Jordan before Yahweh, —until he hath dispossessed his enemies, from before him;

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

22 and the land be subdued before Yahweh then afterwards, shall ye return, and shall be acquitted by Yahweh and by Israel, —and this land shall be yours for a possession before Yahweh.

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 shall not do this, lo! ye will have sinned against Yahweh, —and take note of your sin, that it 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 flocks, —and then that which hath gone forth from your mouth, ye shall do.

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 Then spake the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben unto Moses, saying, —thy servants, will do, as, my lord, is giving command.

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 cattle, and all our beasts, shall remain 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 and thy servants, will pass over every one armed for war, before Yahweh to battle, —as, my lord is speaking.

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 Moses gave command concerning them, unto Eleazar the priest and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes, of the sons 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 sons of Gad and the son of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every one armed for the war before Yahweh, and the land be subdued before you, then shall ye give unto 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 armed, with you, then shall they accept a possession in your midst, 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 Then responded the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, saying, —That which Yahweh had spoken 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 Yahweh into the land of Canaan, —then shall be ours, the possession of our inheritance across the Jordan.

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 So then Moses gave unto them even unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Reuben and unto the half tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land by her cities with boundaries, even the cities of the land 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 sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, —and Aroer;

The people of the tribe 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 flocks.

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 sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, —and Kiriathaim,

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

38 and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed, and Sibmah, —and they gave names to the cities which they built.

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

39 Then went the sons of Machir son of Manasseh to Gilead, and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein,

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 So Moses gave Gilead unto Machir 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, son of Manasseh, went, and captured their encampments, —and called them Havvoth-jair ["The encampments of 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 captured Kenath, with 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.