Numbers 32
New Living Translation
The Tribes East of the Jordan
32 The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, 2 they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said, 3 “Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah,[a] Nebo, and Beon. 4 The Lord has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. 5 If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.”
6 “Do you intend to stay here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?” Moses asked the men of Gad and Reuben. 7 “Why do you want to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them? 8 Your ancestors did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. 9 After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them. 10 Then the Lord was very angry with them, and he vowed, 11 ‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. 12 The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’
13 “The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died. 14 But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel. 15 If you turn away from him like this and he abandons them again in the wilderness, you will be responsible for destroying this entire nation!”
16 But they approached Moses and said, “We simply want to build pens for our livestock and fortified towns for our wives and children. 17 Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their land. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified towns we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people. 18 We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land. 19 But we do not claim any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side and accept this as our grant of land.”
20 Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles, 21 and if your troops cross the Jordan and keep fighting until the Lord has driven out his enemies, 22 then you may return when the Lord has conquered the land. You will have fulfilled your duty to the Lord and to the rest of the people of Israel. And the land on the east side of the Jordan will be your property from the Lord. 23 But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. 24 Go ahead and build towns for your families and pens for your flocks, but do everything you have promised.”
25 Then the men of Gad and Reuben replied, “We, your servants, will follow your instructions exactly. 26 Our children, wives, flocks, and cattle will stay here in the towns of Gilead. 27 But all who are able to bear arms will cross over to fight for the Lord, just as you have said.”
28 So Moses gave orders to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the clans of Israel. 29 He said, “The men of Gad and Reuben who are armed for battle must cross the Jordan with you to fight for the Lord. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their property when the land is conquered. 30 But if they refuse to arm themselves and cross over with you, then they must accept land with the rest of you in the land of Canaan.”
31 The tribes of Gad and Reuben said again, “We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded! 32 We will cross the Jordan into Canaan fully armed to fight for the Lord, but our property will be here on this side of the Jordan.”
33 So Moses assigned land to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. He gave them the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and the land of King Og of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and surrounding lands.
34 The descendants of Gad built the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran. These were all fortified towns with pens for their flocks.
37 The descendants of Reuben built the towns of Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal-meon, and Sibmah. They changed the names of some of the towns they conquered and rebuilt.
39 Then the descendants of Makir of the tribe of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, and they drove out the Amorites living there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 The people of Jair, another clan of the tribe of Manasseh, captured many of the towns in Gilead and changed the name of that region to the Towns of Jair.[b] 42 Meanwhile, a man named Nobah captured the town of Kenath and its surrounding villages, and he renamed that area Nobah after himself.
Numbers 32
International Standard Version
Reuben and Gad Present a Proposal(A)
32 Now, the descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad happened to be joint owners of a very large herd of cattle. When they observed that Jazer and Gilead were good grazing lands[a] for cattle, 2 the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben approached Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community and said, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon— 4 the land that the Lord defeated in the sight of the community of Israel—is perfect for cattle and your servants have cattle. 5 If we’ve found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as our possession instead of us crossing the Jordan River.”[b]
6 “Will your relatives have to go to war while you remain here?” Moses asked the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben in response. 7 “Why would you discourage[c] the Israelis from crossing over to the land that the Lord has given them? 8 That’s what[d] your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore[e] the land. 9 When they arrived in the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged[f] the Israelis from entering the land that the Lord had given them. 10 That’s why the Lord’s anger flared up that day and he promised by an oath that 11 ‘Not one of the men who went up from Egypt, from 20 years old and above, will see the land that I promised to give to their ancestors, that is, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because none of them followed me wholeheartedly,[g] 12 except Jephunneh’s son Caleb, the Kenizzite, and Nun’s son Joshua. They’ve wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’
13 “The Lord’s anger had flared up against Israel so that he made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation, who committed evil in the eyes of the Lord, had died. 14 And now, look! You’re acting just like[h] your ancestors, like a brood[i] of sinful men, who are provoking the fierce anger of the Lord against the Israelis one step at a time. 15 If you stop following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness. You’ll end up destroying this entire people.”
A Compromise is Offered
16 Then they approached him and said, “Here’s where we’re going to build corrals for our cattle and cities for our families,[j] 17 but we will keep ourselves armed and stay ready to go with the Israelis until we’ve brought them to their own places. Our families intend to live in fortified cities in the presence of the inhabitants of the land, 18 but we won’t return to our homes until every Israeli has taken possession of each of their inheritances, 19 since our inheritance will not be with them across the Jordan River and beyond. Instead, our inheritance is on this side of the Jordan River, facing eastward.”
The Offer is Accepted
20 “If you do this,” Moses replied to them, “that is, if you equip yourselves for war in the Lord’s presence 21 and every one of your armed soldiers crosses over the Jordan River in the presence of the Lord until he has dispossessed his enemies ahead of him 22 and subjugated the land before him,[k] then afterwards when you return, you’ll be able to stand blameless before the Lord and before Israel. This land will then be your possession before the Lord. 23 “But if you won’t do so, look out! You will be sinning against the Lord. Be certain of this, that your sin will catch up to you! 24 So after you’ve built cities for your families and corrals for your cattle, be sure to keep your promises.”
Moses Assigns the Territory
25 Then the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben spoke up. “Your servants will do exactly what our master has commanded.” They said. 26 “Our children, wives, flocks, and all our cattle will be settled in the cities of Gilead, 27 but every soldier that we’ve equipped for battle will cross the Jordan River[l] in the presence of the Lord, as our master has spoken.”
28 So Moses instructed Eleazar the priest and Nun’s son Joshua, and the officers of the ancestral tribes of the Israelis, 29 telling them, “If the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben cross over the Jordan River with you, that is, all of their soldiers who’ve been equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, so that the land is subjugated right before your eyes, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as their possession. 30 But if the armed men don’t cross over with you, then they won’t have any possession in the land of Canaan.”
31 “We’ll do just what the Lord told your servants,” the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben responded. 32 “We are to cross over in battle array[m] in the Lord’s presence into the land of Canaan, and afterwards the possession of our inheritance will be on this side of the Jordan River.”
33 So Moses gave to the descendants of Gad, to the descendants of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the whole land with its cities, and even the territories surrounding it.
Gad and Reuben Rebuild Their Cities
34 The descendants of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atrothshophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities with corrals for sheep. 37 The descendants of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal-meon (after having changed their names), and Sibmah. The cities that they rebuilt were renamed. 39 The descendants of Manasseh’s son Machir attacked Gilead and then captured and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. 40 That’s why Moses gave Gilead to Manasseh’s son Machir, who lived there at the time. 41 Manasseh’s son Jair captured[n] their towns and renamed them Havvoth-jair. 42 Nobah captured Kenath and its towns and renamed it Nobah after himself.
Footnotes
- Numbers 32:1 The Heb. lacks grazing lands
- Numbers 32:5 The Heb. lacks River; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 32:7 Lit. discourage the heart
- Numbers 32:8 Lit. thus
- Numbers 32:8 Or spy
- Numbers 32:9 Lit. discouraged the heart
- Numbers 32:11 Lit. fully
- Numbers 32:14 Lit. standing in place of
- Numbers 32:14 Or an increase
- Numbers 32:16 Or little ones
- Numbers 32:22 Lit. before the Lord
- Numbers 32:27 The Heb. lacks the Jordan River
- Numbers 32:32 Lit. over as armed men
- Numbers 32:41 Lit. went and took
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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