Numbers 32

1The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great amount of livestock, and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock.

2Then the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,

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

4The land that Yahweh struck before the congregation of Israel is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.

5And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”

6But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?”

7And why do you discourage the hearts of the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land that Yahweh has given them?

8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land:

9They went up as far as the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, and they discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel from going into the land that Yahweh had given them.

10So Yahweh’s anger burned on that day, and he swore, saying,

11Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not fully followed me.

12except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, because they fully followed Yahweh.

13So Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of Yahweh had come to an end.

14And behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of Yahweh against Israel.

15For if you turn back from following him, he will again leave him in the wilderness, and you will bring ruin on all this people.

16Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones.”

17But we ourselves will arm ourselves quickly before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

18We will not return to our houses until the sons of Israel have each taken possession of his inheritance.

19For we will not inherit with them beyond the Jordan and farther on, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan, to the east.

20And Moses said to them, “If you will do this thing, if you will arm yourselves before Yahweh for the war,”

21and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven out his enemies from before him,

22and the land is subdued before Yahweh, then afterward you may return and be free of obligation to Yahweh and to Israel, and this land shall be yours as a possession before Yahweh.

23But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh, and know that your sin will find you out.

24Build for yourselves cities for your little ones, and enclosures for your flocks, and do what has gone out from your mouth.

25Then the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben said to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands.”

26Our little children, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will remain there in the cities of Gilead.

27But your servants will cross over, every man armed for battle, before Yahweh for the war, just as my lord says.

28So Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the sons of Israel concerning them.

29And Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben cross the Jordan with you, every armed man for battle before Yahweh, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession.”

30But if they do not cross over armed with you, then they shall receive property among you in the land of Canaan.

31Then the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As Yahweh has spoken to your servants, so we will do.”

32We ourselves will cross over, armed, before Yahweh into the land of Canaan, and with us will be the possession of our inheritance on this side of the Jordan.

33So Moses gave to the sons of Gad, to the sons of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land with its cities in their territories, the cities of the surrounding land.

34The sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer.

35and Atroth-shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah.

36and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and sheepfolds.

37And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kiriathaim.

38and Nebo, and Baal-meon, their names having been changed, and Sibmah. And they gave names to the cities that they had built.

39The sons of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.

40So Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled in it.

41And Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and he called them Havvoth-jair.

42And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.