20 So (A)Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has (B)driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and (C)this land shall be your possession before the Lord. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and (D)be sure your sin will find you out. 24 (E)Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 (F)Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, 27 (G)but your servants will pass over, every man who is (H)armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.”

28 So (I)Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to (J)Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. 32 We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

33 And (K)Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34 And the people of Gad built (L)Dibon, (M)Ataroth, (N)Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, (O)Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 (P)Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, (Q)fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the people of Reuben built (R)Heshbon, (S)Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 (T)Nebo, and (U)Baal-meon ((V)their names were changed), and (W)Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39 And the sons of (X)Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 And Moses (Y)gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41 And (Z)Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.[a] 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Recounting Israel's Journey

33 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, (AA)stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. They (AB)set out from Rameses in (AC)the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out (AD)triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, (AE)whom the Lord had struck down among them. (AF)On their gods also the Lord executed judgments.

So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at (AG)Succoth. And they set out from Succoth and camped at (AH)Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. And they set out from Etham and turned back to (AI)Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. And they set out from before Hahiroth[b] and (AJ)passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they (AK)went a three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. And they set out from Marah and came to (AL)Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10 And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in (AM)the wilderness of Sin. 12 And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 And they set out from Alush and camped at (AN)Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 15 And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the (AO)wilderness of Sinai. 16 And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at (AP)Kibroth-hattaavah. 17 And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at (AQ)Hazeroth. 18 And they (AR)set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20 And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. 21 And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31 And they set out from Moseroth and camped at (AS)Bene-jaakan. 32 And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at (AT)Hor-haggidgad. 33 And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at (AU)Jotbathah. 34 And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 And they set out from Abronah and camped at (AV)Ezion-geber. 36 And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the (AW)wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh). 37 And they set out from (AX)Kadesh and camped at (AY)Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

38 And Aaron the priest went up (AZ)Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 And Aaron was (BA)123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 And (BB)the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

41 And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 And they set out from Punon and camped at (BC)Oboth. 44 And they set out from Oboth and camped at (BD)Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab. 45 And they set out from Iyim and camped at (BE)Dibon-gad. 46 And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47 And they set out from Almon-diblathaim (BF)and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in (BG)the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho; 49 they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as (BH)Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 32:41 Havvoth-jair means the villages of Jair
  2. Numbers 33:8 Some manuscripts and versions Pi-hahiroth

20 Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle(A) 21 and if all of you who are armed cross over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him(B) 22 then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return(C) and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession(D) before the Lord.(E)

23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.(F) 24 Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks,(G) but do what you have promised.(H)

25 The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We your servants will do as our lord commands.(I) 26 Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead.(J) 27 But your servants, every man who is armed for battle, will cross over to fight(K) before the Lord, just as our lord says.”

28 Then Moses gave orders about them(L) to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun(M) and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes.(N) 29 He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord, then when the land is subdued before you,(O) you must give them the land of Gilead as their possession.(P) 30 But if they do not cross over(Q) with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan.(R)

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

33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites,(V) the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh(W) son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites(X) and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan(Y)—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.(Z)

34 The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,(AA) 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer,(AB) Jogbehah,(AC) 36 Beth Nimrah(AD) and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks.(AE) 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon,(AF) Elealeh(AG) and Kiriathaim,(AH) 38 as well as Nebo(AI) and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah.(AJ) They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.

39 The descendants of Makir(AK) son of Manasseh went to Gilead,(AL) captured it and drove out the Amorites(AM) who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites,(AN) the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 Jair,(AO) a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.[a](AP) 42 And Nobah captured Kenath(AQ) and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah(AR) after himself.(AS)

Stages in Israel’s Journey

33 Here are the stages in the journey(AT) of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt(AU) by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.(AV) At the Lord’s command Moses recorded(AW) the stages in their journey(AX). This is their journey by stages:

The Israelites set out(AY) from Rameses(AZ) on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover.(BA) They marched out defiantly(BB) in full view of all the Egyptians, who were burying all their firstborn,(BC) whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment(BD) on their gods.(BE)

The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Sukkoth.(BF)

They left Sukkoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.(BG)

They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon,(BH) and camped near Migdol.(BI)

They left Pi Hahiroth[b](BJ) and passed through the sea(BK) into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.(BL)

They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped(BM) there.

10 They left Elim(BN) and camped by the Red Sea.[c]

11 They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.(BO)

12 They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

13 They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

14 They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.(BP)

15 They left Rephidim(BQ) and camped in the Desert of Sinai.(BR)

16 They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.(BS)

17 They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.(BT)

18 They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

19 They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

20 They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.(BU)

21 They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

22 They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

23 They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

24 They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

25 They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

26 They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

27 They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

28 They left Terah and camped at Mithkah.

29 They left Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

30 They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.(BV)

31 They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.(BW)

32 They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.

33 They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.(BX)

34 They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

35 They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.(BY)

36 They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.(BZ)

37 They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor,(CA) on the border of Edom.(CB) 38 At the Lord’s command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died(CC) on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year(CD) after the Israelites came out of Egypt.(CE) 39 Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 The Canaanite king(CF) of Arad,(CG) who lived in the Negev(CH) of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.

41 They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

42 They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

43 They left Punon and camped at Oboth.(CI)

44 They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.(CJ)

45 They left Iye Abarim and camped at Dibon Gad.

46 They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

47 They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim,(CK) near Nebo.(CL)

48 They left the mountains of Abarim(CM) and camped on the plains of Moab(CN) by the Jordan(CO) across from Jericho.(CP) 49 There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth(CQ) to Abel Shittim.(CR)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 32:41 Or them the settlements of Jair
  2. Numbers 33:8 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text left from before Hahiroth
  3. Numbers 33:10 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 11