Numbers 32
1 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].
And the children of Ruben and the children of Gad had a multitude of cattle, very great; and they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Galaad; and the place was a place for cattle:
2 So their leaders came to Eleazar and the other leaders of the people and Moses/me. They said,
and the children of Ruben and the children of Gad came, and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying,
3 “We have a great amount of livestock.
Ataroth, and Daebon, and Jazer, and Namra, and Esebon, and Eleale, and Sebama, and Nabau, and Baean,
4 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].
the land which the Lord has delivered up before the children of Israel, is pasture land, and your servants have cattle.
5 If it pleases you, we would like this land to be ours, instead of land on the other side of the Jordan River.”
And they said, If we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession, and do not cause us to pass over Jordan.
6 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!
And Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall you sit here?
7 [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].
And why do you pervert the minds of the children of Israel, that they should not cross over into the land, which the Lord gives them?
8 Your ancestors did the same kind of thing. I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see what the land [of Canaan] was like.
Did not your fathers thus, when I sent them from Cades Barne to spy out the land?
9 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.’
And they went up to the valley of the cluster, and spied the land, and turned aside the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land, which the Lord gave them.
10 So Yahweh became very angry with them, and he solemnly declared this:
And the Lord was very angry in that day, and sware, saying,
11 ‘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].’
Surely these men who came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upward, who know good and evil, shall not see the land which I sware [to give] to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, for they have not closely followed after me:
save Caleb the son of Jephonne, who was set apart, and Joshua the son of Naue, for they closely followed after the Lord.
13 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].
And the Lord was very angry with Israel; and for forty years he caused them to wander in the wilderness, until all the generation which did evil in the sight of the Lord was extinct.
14 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]
Behold, you are risen up in the room of your fathers, a combination of sinful men, to increase yet farther the fierce wrath of the Lord against Israel.
15 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!”
For you will turn away from him to desert him yet once more in the wilderness, and you will sin against this whole congregation.
16 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.
And they came to him, and said, We will build here folds for our cattle, and cities for our possessions;
17 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].
and we will arm ourselves and go as an advanced guard before the children of Israel, until we shall have brought them into their place; and our possessions shall remain in walled cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 We will not return to our homes until every Israeli has received some land.
We will not return to our houses till the children of Israel shall have been distributed, each to his own inheritance.
19 We will not take any land on the west side of the Jordan [River]; our land will be here on the east side.”
And we will not any longer inherit with them from the other side of Jordan and onwards, because we have our full inheritance on the side beyond Jordan eastward.
20 So Moses/I told them, “[Okay, I will tell you] what you all must do. You must get ready to fight battles for Yahweh.
And Moses said to them, If you will do according to these words, if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle,
21 You all must cross the Jordan [River] carrying your weapons.
and every one of you will pass over Jordan fully armed before the Lord, until his enemy be destroyed from before his face,
22 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.
and the land shall be subdued before the Lord, then afterwards you shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and as regards Israel; and this land shall be to you for a possession before the Lord.
23 “But if you do not do these things, you will be sinning against Yahweh, and he will punish you for [that] sin.
But if you will not do so, you will sin against the Lord; and you shall know your sin, when afflictions shall come upon you.
24 Now you can build cities for your families and pens for your animals, but after doing that, you must do what you have promised.”
And you shall build for yourselves cities for your store, and folds for your cattle; and you shall do that which proceeds out of your mouth.
25 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.
And the sons of Ruben and the sons of Gad spoke to Moses, saying, Your servants will do as our lord commands.
26 Our wives and children and our cattle and sheep and goats will stay here in the cities in the Gilead area,
Our store, and our wives, and all our cattle shall be in the cities of Galaad.
27 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.”
But your servants will go over all armed and set in order before the Lord to battle, as [our] lord says.
28 So Moses/I gave instructions about them to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the Israeli tribes.
And Moses appointed to them [for judges] Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Naue, and the chiefs of the families of the tribes of Israel.
29 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.
And Moses said to them, If the sons of Ruben and the sons of Gad will pass over Jordan with you, every one armed for war before the Lord, and you shall subdue the land before you, then you shall give to them the land of Galaad for a possession.
30 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.”
But if they will not pass over armed with you to war before the Lord, then shall you cause to pass over their possessions and their wives and their cattle before you into the land of Chanaan, and they shall inherit with you in the land of Chanaan.
31 The [leaders of the tribes of Gad and Reuben] replied, “We will do what you have said and what Yahweh has said.
And the sons of Ruben and the sons of Gad answered, saying, Whatsoever the Lord says to his servants, that will we do.
32 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].”
We will go over armed before the Lord into the land of Chanaan, and you shall give us our inheritance beyond Jordan.
33 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.
And Moses gave to them, even to the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben, and to the half tribe of Manasse of the sons of Joseph, the kingdom of Seon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Basan, the land and its cities with its coasts, the cities of the land round about.
34 The people of the tribe of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
And the sons of Gad built Daebon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
35 Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
and Sophar, and Jazer, and they set them up,
36 Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran cities. Those were cities with strong walls around them. And they also built pens for their sheep.
and Namram, and Baetharan, strong cities, and folds for sheep.
37 The people of the tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
And the sons of Ruben built Esebon, and Eleale, and Kariatham,
38 Nebo, Baal-Meon, and Sibmah cities. When they rebuilt Nebo and Baal-Meon, they gave new names to those cities.
and Beelmeon, surrounded [with walls], and Sebama; and they called the names of the cities which they built, after their own names.
39 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.
And a son of Machir the son of Manasse went to Galaad, and took it, and destroyed the Amorite who lived in it.
40 So Moses/I gave Gilead to the family of Makir, and they started to live there.
And Moses gave Galaad to Machir the son of Manasse, and he lived there.
41 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.
And Jair the [son] of Manasse went and took their villages, and called them the villages of Jair.
42 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.
And Nabau went and took Caath and her villages, and called them Naboth after his name.
