¹² And ^(A)the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.

¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall ^[a]pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them,

²⁰ Then ^(A)Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, ²¹ and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, ²² and ^(B)the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward ^(C)you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and ^(D)this land shall be your possession before the Lord. ²³ But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure ^(E)your sin will find you out. ^24 (F)Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do ^[a]what has proceeded out of your mouth.”

²⁵ And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands. ^26 (G)Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; ^27 (H)but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”

²⁸ So Moses gave command ^(I)concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. ²⁹ And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. ³⁰ But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”

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.”