Numbers 32
1 Now, much cattle, had come into the possession of the sons of Reuben and of the sons of Gad, an exceeding mighty number. And when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, lo! 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 So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came in, —and spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of assembly, saying,
So they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the Israelite leaders and said,
3 As touching Ataroth and Dibon, and Jazer and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, —and Sebam and Nebo, and Beon-
“The towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
4 the land which Yahweh smote before the assembly of Israel, a land for cattle, it is, —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 unto thy servants, for a possession, —do not take us over the Jordan.
They continued, “Please respond to our request favorably: give us this land. Don't make us cross the Jordan.”
6 Then said Moses unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Reuben, —Shall, your brethren, go into the war, and ye, settle down 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 Wherefore, then, should ye dissuade the heart of the sons of Israel, from passing over into the land which Yahweh hath given to 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 view the land,
This is just what your fathers did when I sent them out from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land.
9 and they went up as far as the ravine of Eschol, and viewed the land, and then dissuaded the heart of the sons of Israel from entering into the land, which Yahweh 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 Then was the anger of Yahweh kindled on that day, —and he sware, saying:
As a result, they made the Lord very angry that day, and he swore this oath,
11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upwards, shall see the soil, which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob, because they have not followed after me fully;
‘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 followed after Yahweh, fully.
no one except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they were completely committed to me.’
13 So the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel, and he made them wander in the desert, forty years, —until all the generation who had done the evil in the eyes of Yahweh, had wasted away!
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 Lo! therefore, ye have arisen in the room of your fathers, a brood of sinful men, —to heap up yet more upon the heat of the anger of Yahweh, towards 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 do turn away from following him, then will he yet again leave them behind in the desert, —so shall ye bring destruction upon 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 Then came they near unto him, and said, Folds, for flocks, would we build for our cattle, here, —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, would arm ourselves promptly, before the sons of Israel, until that we have brought them into their place, —so should our little ones remain in the fortified 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 would not return unto our houses, —until the sons of Israel have possessed themselves each man, of his inheritance.
We won't return to our homes until every Israelite is in possession of their allotted land.
19 For we would not inherit with them, over the Jordan, and onwards, —because our inheritance hath come unto us on this side the Jordan towards sunrise.
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 unto them, If ye will indeed do this thing, —if ye will arm yourselves, before Yahweh, for the 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 every armed man of you pass over the Jordan before Yahweh, —until he hath 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 be subdued before Yahweh then afterwards, shall ye return, and shall be acquitted by Yahweh and by Israel, —and this land shall be yours for a possession before Yahweh.
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 shall not do this, lo! ye will have sinned against Yahweh, —and take note of your sin, that it 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 you cities for your little ones, and folds for your flocks, —and then that which hath gone forth from your mouth, ye shall do.
Go ahead and build towns for your children and stone walls for your flocks, but make sure you do what you've promised!”
25 Then spake the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben unto Moses, saying, —thy servants, will do, as, my lord, is giving command.
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 remain 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 and thy servants, will pass over every one armed for war, before Yahweh to battle, —as, my lord is speaking.
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 Moses gave command concerning them, unto Eleazar the priest and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto 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 said unto them—If the sons of Gad and the son of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every one armed for the war before Yahweh, and the land be subdued before you, then shall ye give unto 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 will not pass over armed, with you, then shall they accept a possession 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 Then responded the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, saying, —That which Yahweh had spoken unto 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 Yahweh into the land of Canaan, —then shall be ours, the possession of our inheritance across 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 So then Moses gave unto them even unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Reuben and unto the half tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land by her cities with boundaries, even 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 built Dibon, and Ataroth, —and Aroer;
The people of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
35 and Atroth-shophan and Jazer, and Jogbehah;
Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
36 and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, —fortified cities and folds for flocks.
Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified towns, and they built stone walls for their flocks.
37 And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, —and Kiriathaim,
The people of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
38 and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed, and Sibmah, —and they gave names to the cities which they built.
as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (changing their names), and Sibmah. In fact they renamed those towns they rebuilt.
39 Then went the sons of Machir son of Manasseh to Gilead, and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein,
The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, attacked Gilead and captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there.
40 So Moses gave Gilead unto Machir 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, son of Manasseh, went, and captured their encampments, —and called them Havvoth-jair ["The encampments of Jair"].
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, attacked their villages and captured them. He named them the Villages of Jair.
42 And, Nobah, went, and captured Kenath, with the villages thereof, —and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Nobah attacked Kenath and captured it, along with its villages. He named it Nobah after himself.
