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

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

“We have a great amount of livestock.

4 the land which Jehovah hath smitten before the company of Israel, is a land for cattle, 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 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 it pleases you, we would like this land to be ours, instead of land on the other side of the Jordan River.”

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?

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 and why discourage ye the heart of the sons of Israel from passing over unto the land which Jehovah 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 in my sending them from Kadesh-Barnea to see 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 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;

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

So Yahweh became very angry with them, and he solemnly declared this:

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;

‘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 have been fully after Jehovah;

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.

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 '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;

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 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 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 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 [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 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;

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 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 Israeli has received some 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.'

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

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

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

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.

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 '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 these things, you will be sinning against Yahweh, and he will punish you for [that] sin.

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

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

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 infants, our wives, our cattle, and all our beasts, are there in 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 pass over, every armed one of the host, before Jehovah, to battle, as my lord is saying.'

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 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/I gave instructions about them to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the Israeli tribes.

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/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 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 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 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answer, saying, 'That which Jehovah hath spoken unto thy servants — so 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 — 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 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 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/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 build Dihon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

The people of the tribe 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 cities. Those were cities with strong walls around them. And they also built pens for their sheep.

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

The people of the tribe 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.

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

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 Manasseh’s son Makir went to the Gilead [region] and compelled the people of the Amor people-group to leave that area.

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

So Moses/I gave Gilead to the family of Makir, and they started to live there.

41 And Jair son of Manasseh hath gone and captureth their towns, and calleth them 'Towns 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 hath gone and captureth Kenath, and its villages, and calleth it Nobah, by 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.