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;

The tribes of Reuben and Gad had large numbers of livestock and saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead was a good place to rear them.

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 they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite leaders and said,

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

“The towns of 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 in full view of the Israelites, are well-suited for the livestock that we your servants own.”

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.'

They continued, “Please respond to our request favorably: give us this land. Don't 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?

In reply Moses asked the tribes of Gad and Reuben, “Are you expecting your brothers to go and fight while you just 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 discourage the Israelites from crossing into the country that the Lord has given them?

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

This is just what your fathers did when I sent them out from Kadesh-barnea to explore 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;

After your fathers traveled up the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the Israelites, persuading them not to enter the country that the Lord had given them.

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

As a result, they made the Lord very angry that day, and he swore this oath,

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;

‘Not a single one of those I saved from Egypt who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they were not completely committed to me—

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

no one except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they were completely committed to me.’

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 Lord was angry with Israel, and made them wander around in the desert for forty years, until the whole generation who had done evil in his sight had died.

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 look at you, you brood of sinners who have come to take your fathers' place to make the Lord even angrier with 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.'

If you give up following him, he will abandon these people in the desert once again, and their deaths will be your fault!”

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 tribes of Gad and Reuben came to Moses and told him, “We would plan to build stone walls to keep our livestock safe and towns for our children.

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 still get ourselves ready for battle, and we will be prepared to lead the Israelites until they can safely occupy their land. In the meantime, our children will stay behind, living in the fortified towns to protect them from the local people.

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

We won't return to our homes until every Israelite is in possession of their allotted land.

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.'

However, we won't own any land on the other side of the Jordan because we've received this land to own on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

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

Moses responded, “If this is what you will actually do, if you will get yourselves ready for battle under the Lord's direction,

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

and if all your troops cross the Jordan with the Lord until he has driven out his enemies ahead of 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 once the country is conquered with the Lord's help then you may return, and you will have fulfilled your obligations to the Lord and to Israel. You will own this land, granted to you by 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 fail to do this, you will clearly be sinning against the Lord, and the consequences of your sin will catch up with you.

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

Go ahead and build towns for your children and stone walls for your flocks, but make sure you do what you've 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 tribes of Gad and Reuben promised Moses, “Sir, we your servants will do just as you have ordered.

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

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

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

But we your servants are ready for battle, and all our troops will cross over to fight with the Lord's help, just as you have said, sir.”

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;

Moses gave the following instructions 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;

Moses told them, “If the tribes of Gadites and Reuben cross the Jordan with you, with all their troops ready for battle with the Lord's help, and the land is conquered as you advance, then give them the land of Gilead to own.

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 don't get themselves ready for battle and cross over with you, then they must accept their allotted land among you in the country 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 tribes of Gad and Reuben responded, “We will do just as the Lord has told us, your servants.

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 and enter the country of Canaan ready for battle with the Lord's help, so that we may have our allotted share of land 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 tribes of Gad and Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan. This land included its towns and their surrounding area.

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

The people 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, cities of defence, and sheepfolds.

Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns, and they built stone walls for their flocks.

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

The people of Reuben rebuilt 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 (changing their names), and Sibmah. In fact they renamed those towns 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, attacked Gilead and captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there.

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

So Moses gave Gilead to the family 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, attacked their villages and captured them. He named them the Villages of Jair.

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

Nobah attacked Kenath and captured it, along with its villages. He named it Nobah after himself.