32 Soothly the sons of Reuben and of Gad had many beasts, and cattle without number was to them, in work beasts. And when they had seen Jazer and Gilead, to be covenable lands to beasts to be fed, (Now the sons of Reuben and of Gad had many beasts, and of work beasts, they had cattle without number. And so when they had seen that Jazer and Gilead had suitable lands, where beasts could be pastured,)

² they came to Moses, and to Eleazar, the priest, and to the princes of the multitude (and to the leaders of the multitude), and said,

³ Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

⁴ (that is,) the land which the Lord smote in the sight of the sons of Israel, is of most plenteous country to the pasture of beasts (is very fine land for pasturing beasts); and we thy servants have full many beasts;

⁵ and we pray thee, if we have found grace before thee, that thou give to us thy servants that country into possession, and make not us to pass [over] Jordan. (and we pray thee, that if we have found grace before thee, that thou give to us thy servants this land for our possession, and do not make us cross over the Jordan River to live.)

⁶ To whom Moses answered, Whether your brethren shall go to battle, and ye shall sit here?

⁷ Why mis-turn ye the thoughts of the sons of Israel, that they dare not pass (over) into the place, which the Lord shall give to them? (Why would ye want to discourage the Israelites, so that they dare not cross over to the place, which the Lord shall give them?)

⁸ Whether your fathers did not so, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to espy the land, (This is just what your fathers did, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to spy out the land,)

⁹ and when they came to the valley of Cluster, when all the country was compassed, they turned into fear the heart of the sons of Israel, that they entered not into the coasts, which the Lord had given to them. (and they went as far as the Eshcol Valley, and then when all the land was surveyed, they came back, and turned the hearts of the Israelites to fear, so that they would not enter into the land, which the Lord had given them.)

¹⁰ And the Lord therefore was wroth (And so the Lord was angry), and he swore, saying,

¹¹ These men that went up from Egypt, from twenty years of age and above, shall not see the land which I promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and [they] would not follow me, (These men who went up from Egypt, from twenty years of age and older, shall not see the land which I promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they would not follow me,)

¹² except Caleb, (the) Kenezite, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun; these twain fulfilled my will.

¹³ And the Lord was wroth against Israel, and led him about the desert by forty years (And so the Lord was angry with the Israelites, and led them about in the wilderness for forty years), till all the generation was wasted, that had done (this) evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁴ And Moses said, Lo! ye the increasings, and nourished children, of sinful men, have risen (up) for your fathers, that ye should increase the strong vengeance of the Lord against Israel. (And Moses said, Lo! now ye, the increasings, and nourished children, of sinful men, have taken your fathers’ place, and ye would provoke the strong vengeance of the Lord against Israel once again.)

¹⁵ That if ye will not follow the Lord, in the wilderness he shall (again) forsake the people, and ye shall be [the] cause of the death of all (these) men. (For if ye will not follow the Lord, he shall again forsake the people in the wilderness, and ye shall be responsible for the death of all these people.)

¹⁶ And they went nigh, and said, We shall make sheepfolds, and stables of beasts, and we shall make strengthened cities to our little children. (And they came near, and said to him, We shall make sheepfolds, and stables for our beasts, and we shall make our cities safe and strong for our little children.)

¹⁷ Forsooth we ourselves shall be armed to defense, and shall be girded with arms to assailing, and shall go to battle before the sons of Israel, till we bring them into their places; (but) our little children, and whatever thing we may have, shall be in strengthened cities, for the treasons of the dwellers (hereabout). (And then we ourselves shall be armed for defense, and shall be girded for assault, and we shall go forth to battle at the front of the Israelites, until we have brought them into their land; but our little children, and whatever things we have, shall stay here safe in our cities, made strong against the treasons of the inhabitants hereabout.)

¹⁸ We shall not turn again into our houses, till the sons of Israel wield their heritage; (We shall not return to our houses, until the Israelites possess their inheritance;)

¹⁹ and we shall not ask (for) anything over Jordan, for we have now our possession in the east coast thereof. (and we shall not ask for anything on the west side of the Jordan River, for now we have received our possession here on the east side of the river.)

²⁰ To whom Moses said, If ye do that, that ye promise, be ye made ready, and go ye to (the) battle before the Lord;

²¹ and each fighting man be armed, and pass he [over] Jordan (and cross he over the Jordan River, and remain there), till the Lord destroy his enemies,

²² and all the land be made subject to him; then ye shall be made guiltless with God, and with Israel, and ye shall wield the countries, which ye will, before the Lord. (and all the land be made subject to him; then ye shall have fulfilled your obligation to God, and to Israel, and ye shall possess the land, which ye desire, in the sight of the Lord.)

²³ But if ye do not that, that ye say, it is no doubt to any man, that not ye sin against God; and know ye, that your sin shall take (hold of) you. (But if ye do not do what ye say ye will, no one shall have any doubt, but that ye have sinned against God; and know ye, that your sin shall catch up with you.)

²⁴ Therefore build ye cities to your little children, and folds, and stables to your sheep, and to beasts; and [ful]fill ye that, that ye have promised. (And so build ye cities for your little children, and folds for your sheep, and stables for your beasts; but then fulfill ye, what ye have promised to do.)

²⁵ And the sons of Gad and of Reuben said to Moses, We be thy servants; we shall do that, that our lord commandeth.

²⁶ We shall leave our little children, and (our) women, and our sheep, and (our) beasts, in the cities of Gilead;

²⁷ forsooth all we thy servants shall go ready to battle, as thou, (my) lord, speakest. (but we thy servants all shall go forth, ready for battle, as thou, my lord, sayest.)

²⁸ Therefore Moses commanded to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the princes of the families, by the lineages of Israel, (And so Moses commanded to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the families, of the tribes of Israel,)

²⁹ and he said to them, If the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben, go all armed with you [over Jordan], to (do) battle before the Lord, and the land be made subject to you, give ye to them Gilead into possession; (and he said to them, If the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben, all go armed with you across the Jordan River, to do battle before the Lord, and the land be made subject to you, give ye to them Gilead for their possession;)

³⁰ but if they will not pass (over) with you (armed,) into the land of Canaan, take they then places to dwell among you. (but if they do not cross over with you, ready for battle, then they shall take places to live among you, in the land of Canaan.)

³¹ And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, As the Lord hath spoken to his servants, so we shall do;

³² we shall go armed before the Lord, into the land of Canaan, and we acknowledge, that we have taken now possession over Jordan. (we all shall go armed before the Lord, into the land of Canaan, and we acknowledge, that we have now received our possession, here on the eastern side of the Jordan River).

³³ And so Moses gave to the sons of Gad, and of Reuben, and to half the lineage of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the realm of Sihon, king of Amorites, and the realm of Og, king of Bashan, and their land(s), with their cities, by compass.

³⁴ Therefore the sons of Gad builded Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

³⁵ and Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

³⁶ and Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, strengthened cities; and folds to their beasts. (and Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, all of them fortified cities, with folds for their beasts.)

³⁷ Soothly the sons of Reuben builded Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,

³⁸ and Nebo, and Baalmeon, when the names were turned, and they builded Shibmah; and they putted names to the cities, which they had builded. (and Nebo, and Baalmeon, whose name they changed, and Shibmah; these were the names of the cities that they built.)

³⁹ Soothly the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went into Gilead, and destroyed it, and they killed (the) Amorite, the dweller thereof (and they killed the Amorites, who lived there).

⁴⁰ Therefore Moses gave the land of Gilead to (the sons of) Machir, the son of Manasseh, the which Machir dwelled therein. (And so Moses gave the land of Gilead to the sons of Machir, and that is where the Machirites lived.)

⁴¹ Soothly Jair, the son of Manasseh, went, and occupied the towns thereof, which he called Havothjair, that is, the towns of Jair.

⁴² Also Nobah went, and took Kenath, with his towns, and called it, by his name, Nobah. (And Nobah went forth, and took Kenath and its towns, and called it Nobah, after himself.)