Numbers 32
1 Now the sons of Ruben and of Gad had many herds, and their substance in cattle was inestimable. And when they had seen that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for feeding animals,
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 they went to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the multitude, and they said:
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, Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
“We have a great amount of livestock.
4 the land, which the Lord has struck in the sight of the sons of Israel, is a very fertile region for pasturing animals. And we, your servants, have very many 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 so we beseech you, if we have found favor before you, that you give it to us, your subjects, as a possession, and that you not cause us cross 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 answered them: “Should your brothers go to battle, while you 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 Why do you subvert the minds of the sons of Israel, so that they might not dare to cross into the place which the Lord will give 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 Did not your fathers act in the same way, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to explore 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 when they had gone all the way to the Valley of the Cluster of Grapes, having viewed the entire region, they subverted the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they would not enter into the parts that the Lord gave 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 being angry, the Lord swore an oath, saying:
So Yahweh became very angry with them, and he solemnly declared this:
11 ‘These men, who ascended out of Egypt, from twenty years and above, will not see the land, which I have promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For they were not willing to follow 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 except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; these have fulfilled my will.’
13 And the Lord, being angry against Israel, led them in a course through the desert for forty years, until the entire generation, which had done evil in his sight, was consumed.
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 behold,” he said, “you have risen up in the place of your fathers, the offshoots and the nurslings of sinful men, in order to augment the fury of the Lord against 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 But if you are not willing to follow him, he will leave the people behind in the wilderness, and you will have been the cause of all our deaths.”
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 But approaching closer, they said: “We will manufacture sheep pens and cattle stalls, as well as fortified 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 ourselves will continue on, armed and girded for battle, before the sons of Israel, until we lead them to their places. Our little ones, and whatever we may be able to have, shall be in walled cities, because of the treachery of the inhabitants.
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 will not return to our houses, even until the sons of Israel may possess their inheritance.
We will not return to our homes until every Israeli has received some land.
19 Neither will we seek anything across the Jordan, because we already have our possession on its eastern side.”
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 to them: “If you accomplish what you have promised, you may go out, equipped for battle, before the Lord.
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 let every fighting man cross over the Jordan, until the Lord overthrows his enemies,
You all must cross the Jordan [River] carrying your weapons.
22 and all the land is subjected to him. Then you will be guiltless with the Lord and with Israel, and you will obtain the regions which you desire before the Lord.
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 you do not do what you have said, no one could doubt that you will have sinned against God. And know this: your sin shall overtake you.
“But if you do not do these things, you will be sinning against Yahweh, and he will punish you for [that] sin.
24 Therefore, build cities for your little ones, and pens and stables for your sheep and cattle; and fulfill what you have promised.”
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 of Ruben said to Moses: “We are your servants, we shall do what you, our ruler, orders.
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 We will leave behind our little ones, and our wives, and the sheep and cattle, 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 we, your servants, all well-equipped, will go forth to battle, just as you, our ruler, has spoken.”
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 Therefore, Moses instructed Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes of the families throughout the tribes of Israel, and he said to them:
So Moses/I gave instructions about them to Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the Israeli tribes.
29 “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben cross over the Jordan with you, all armed for war before the Lord, and if the land becomes subject to you, give them Gilead as 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 are not willing to cross with you, armed, into the land of Canaan, then let them receive places among you for their dwellings.”
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 Ruben responded: “Just as the Lord has spoken to his servants, so shall 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 go forth, armed, before the Lord into the land of Canaan; and we acknowledge that we have already received our possession 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 And so, Moses gave to the sons of Gad and of Ruben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and their land with its surrounding cities.
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 Therefore, the sons of Gad built up Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
The people of the tribe of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
35 and Atroth and Shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,
Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
36 and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran, as fortified cities with pens for their cattle.
Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran cities. Those were cities with strong walls around them. And they also built pens for their sheep.
37 Yet truly, the sons of Ruben built up Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,
The people of the tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
38 and Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names having been changed) and Sibmah, appointing names for the cities which they had built.
Nebo, Baal-Meon, and Sibmah cities. When they rebuilt Nebo and Baal-Meon, they gave new names to those cities.
39 Moreover, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, continued on within Gilead, and they devastated it, putting to death its inhabitant, the Amorite.
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 Therefore, Moses gave the land of Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it.
So Moses/I gave Gilead to the family of Makir, and they started to live there.
41 But Jair, the son of Manasseh, went out and occupied its villages, which he called Havoth Jair, that is, the Villages 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 Likewise, Nobah went forth and captured Kenath with its villages. And he called it by his own name, Nobah.
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.
