“Let (A)Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”

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“Let Reuben live and not die,
    nor[a] his people be few.”(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:6 Or but let

Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands

22 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: “You have kept (A)all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, (B)and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. You have not [a]left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. And now the Lord your God has given (C)rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, (D)which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But (E)take[b] careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, (F)to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” So Joshua (G)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, (H)but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. (I)Divide the [c]spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to (J)the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 22:3 forsaken
  2. Joshua 22:5 be very careful to do
  3. Joshua 22:8 plunder

Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded,(A) and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. Now that the Lord your God has given them rest(B) as he promised, return to your homes(C) in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.(D) But be very careful to keep the commandment(E) and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord(F) your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands,(G) to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.(H)

Then Joshua blessed(I) them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan,(J) and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side(K) of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,(L) saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock,(M) with silver, gold, bronze and iron,(N) and a great quantity of clothing—and divide(O) the plunder(P) from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.”

So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh(Q) in Canaan to return to Gilead,(R) their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.

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“Judah,(A) you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
(B)Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(C)Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

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“Judah,[a](A) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck(B) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.

31 Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do. 32 We will cross over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.”

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31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said.(A) 32 We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed,(B) but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.(C)

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“Reuben, you are (A)my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you (B)went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it
He went up to my couch.

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“Reuben, you are my firstborn,(A)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,(B)
    excelling in honor,(C) excelling in power.
Turbulent as the waters,(D) you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.(E)

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