Numbers 32
1 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had much cattle, a very great multitude; and they saw the land of Jaazer, and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was 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 children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the assembly, saying,
So they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite leaders and said,
3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jaazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elaleh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
“The towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
4 the country that Jehovah smote before the assembly 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 said, If we have found favour in thine eyes, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession: bring us not 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 said to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye abide 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 do ye discourage the children of Israel from going over into the land that Jehovah has given them?
Why discourage the Israelites from crossing into the country that the Lord has given them?
8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent 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 they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, and discouraged the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land that Jehovah had given 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 Jehovah's anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying,
As a result, they made the Lord very angry that day, and he swore this oath,
11 If the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob! for they have not wholly followed 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 the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they have wholly followed Jehovah.
no one except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they were completely committed to me.’
13 And Jehovah's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation was consumed that had done evil 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 behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, a progeny of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce 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 If ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy 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 drew near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones;
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 but we ourselves will go with diligence armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the strong cities 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 will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited each one his inheritance.
We won't return to our homes until every Israelite is in possession of their allotted land.
19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side the Jordan, and further, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side the Jordan eastward.
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 said to them, If ye do this thing, if ye arm yourselves before Jehovah for war,
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 all of you that are armed go over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he have dispossessed 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 is subdued before Jehovah, and afterwards ye return, ye shall be guiltless toward Jehovah and toward Israel, and this land shall be your 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 But if ye do not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Jehovah, and be sure your sin will find you out.
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 yourselves cities for your little ones, and folds for your flocks, and do that which has gone out of your mouth.
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 children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commands.
The tribes of Gad and Reuben promised Moses, “Sir, we your servants will do just as you have ordered.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our cattle, and all our beasts shall be there in the cities of Gilead;
Our wives and children, our livestock and all our animals, will all remain here in the towns of Gilead.
27 but thy servants will pass over, every one armed for war, before Jehovah to battle, as my lord says.
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 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children 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 said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben pass with you over the Jordan, every one armed for battle, before Jehovah, and the land be subdued before you, then ye shall give 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 but if they do not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you 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 children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As Jehovah has said to thy servants, so will we do.
The tribes of Gad and Reuben responded, “We will do just as the Lord has told us, your servants.
32 We will pass over armed before Jehovah into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance on this side the Jordan shall be ours.
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 gave to them, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og the king of Bashan, the land, according to its cities and territories, 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 children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
The people of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
35 and Atroth-Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbebah,
Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
36 and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-haran, strong cities, and sheepfolds.
Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns, and they built stone walls for their flocks.
37 — And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elaleh, and Kirjathaim,
The people of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
38 and Nebo, and Baal-meon (of which the names were changed), and Sibmah; and they gave other names to the cities that they built.
as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (changing their names), and Sibmah. In fact they renamed those towns they rebuilt.
39 — And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and they dispossessed the Amorites that were therein.
The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, attacked Gilead and captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there.
40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
So Moses gave Gilead to the family of Machir, son of Manasseh, and they settled there.
41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took their hamlets, and called them Havoth-Jair.
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, attacked their villages and captured them. He named them the Villages of Jair.
42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and its dependent villages, and called it Nobah, after his name.
Nobah attacked Kenath and captured it, along with its villages. He named it Nobah after himself.
