Numbers 32

1 And much cattle hath been 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 lo, the place [is] a place [for] cattle;

Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.

2 and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben, come in and speak unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the company, saying:

So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, and said,

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

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

4 the land which Jehovah hath smitten before the company of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.'

which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, are suitable for livestock—and your servants have livestock.”

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

“If we have found favor in your sight,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”

6 And Moses saith to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, 'Do your brethren go in to the battle, and ye — do ye sit here?

But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?

7 and why discourage ye the heart of the sons of Israel from passing over unto the land which Jehovah hath given to them?

Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land that the LORD has given them?

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

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

9 and they go up unto the valley of Eshcol, and see the land, and discourage the heart of the sons of Israel so as not to go in unto the land which Jehovah hath given to them;

For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.

10 and the anger of Jehovah burneth in that day, and He sweareth, saying,

So the anger of the LORD was kindled that day, and He 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;

‘Because they did not follow Me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years of age or older who came out of Egypt will see the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—

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

not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun—because they did follow the LORD wholeheartedly.’

13 and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He causeth them to wander in the wilderness forty years, until the consumption of all the generation which is doing the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah.

The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation who had done evil in His sight was gone.

14 'And lo, ye have risen in the stead of your fathers, an increase of men — sinners, to add yet to the fury of the anger of Jehovah toward Israel;

Now behold, you, a brood of sinners, have risen up in place of your fathers to further stoke the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.

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

For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”

16 And they come nigh unto him, and say, 'Folds for the flock we build for our cattle here, and cities for our infants;

Then the Gadites and Reubenites approached Moses and said, “We want to build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our little ones.

17 and we — we are armed hasting before the sons of Israel till that we have brought them in unto their place; and our infants have dwelt in the cities of defence because of the inhabitants of the land;

But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our little ones will remain in the fortified cities for protection from the inhabitants of the land.

18 we do not turn back unto our houses till the sons of Israel have inherited each his inheritance,

We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has taken possession of his inheritance.

19 for we do not inherit with them beyond the Jordan and yonder, for our inheritance hath come unto us beyond the Jordan at the [sun] -rising.'

Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”

20 And Moses saith unto them, 'If ye do this thing: if ye are armed before Jehovah for battle,

Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle,

21 and every armed one of you hath passed over the Jordan before Jehovah, till his dispossessing His enemies from before Him,

and if every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the LORD, until He has driven His enemies out before Him,

22 and the land hath been subdued before Jehovah — then afterwards ye do turn back, and have been acquitted by Jehovah, and by Israel; and this land hath been to you for a possession before Jehovah.

then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the LORD.

23 'And if ye do not so, lo, ye have sinned against Jehovah, and know ye your sin, that it doth find you;

But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out.

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

Build cities for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”

25 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben speak unto Moses, saying, 'Thy servants do as my lord is commanding;

The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “Your servants will do just as our lord commands.

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

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

27 and thy servants pass over, every armed one of the host, before Jehovah, to battle, as my lord is saying.'

But your servants are equipped for war, and every man will cross over to the battle before the LORD, just as our lord says.”

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

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

29 and Moses saith unto them, 'If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben pass over with you the Jordan, every one armed for battle, before Jehovah, and the land hath been subdued before you, then ye have given to them the land of Gilead for a possession;

And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are to give them the land of 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 do not arm themselves and go across with you, then they must accept their possession among you in the land of Canaan.”

31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answer, saying, 'That which Jehovah hath spoken unto thy servants — so we do;

The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “As the LORD has spoken to your servants, so we will do.

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

We will cross over into the land of Canaan armed before the LORD, that we may have our inheritance on this side of the Jordan.”

33 And Moses giveth 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 land round about.

So Moses gave to the Gadites, to the Reubenites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land including its cities and the territory surrounding them.

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

And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

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

Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

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

Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and they built folds for their flocks.

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

The Reubenites built up Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

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

as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.

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

The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

40 and Moses giveth Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he dwelleth in it.

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

41 And Jair son of Manasseh hath gone and captureth their towns, and calleth them 'Towns of Jair;'

Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair.

42 and Nobah hath gone and captureth Kenath, and its villages, and calleth it Nobah, by his own name.

And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah, after his own name.