Numbers 32
32
1 Now the sons of Ruben and of Gad had many herds, and their substance in cattle was inestimable. And when they had seen that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for feeding animals,
2 they went to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the multitude, and they said:
3 "Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
4 the land, which the Lord has struck in the sight of the sons of Israel, is a very fertile region for pasturing animals. And we, your servants, have very many cattle.
5 And so we beseech you, if we have found favor before you, that you give it to us, your subjects, as a possession, and that you not cause us cross the Jordan."
6 And Moses answered them: "Should your brothers go to battle, while you sit here?
7 Why do you subvert the minds of the sons of Israel, so that they might not dare to cross into the place which the Lord will give to them?
8 Did not your fathers act in the same way, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to explore the land?
9 And when they had gone all the way to the Valley of the Cluster of Grapes, having viewed the entire region, they subverted the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they would not enter into the parts that the Lord gave to them.
10 And being angry, the Lord swore an oath, saying:
11 'These men, who ascended out of Egypt, from twenty years and above, will not see the land, which I have promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For they were not willing to follow me,
12 except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; these have fulfilled my will.'
13 And the Lord, being angry against Israel, led them in a course through the desert for forty years, until the entire generation, which had done evil in his sight, was consumed.
14 And behold," he said, "you have risen up in the place of your fathers, the offshoots and the nurslings of sinful men, in order to augment the fury of the Lord against Israel.
15 But if you are not willing to follow him, he will leave the people behind in the wilderness, and you will have been the cause of all our deaths."
16 But approaching closer, they said: "We will manufacture sheep pens and cattle stalls, as well as fortified cities, for our little ones.
17 But we ourselves will continue on, armed and girded for battle, before the sons of Israel, until we lead them to their places. Our little ones, and whatever we may be able to have, shall be in walled cities, because of the treachery of the inhabitants.
18 We will not return to our houses, even until the sons of Israel may possess their inheritance.
19 Neither will we seek anything across the Jordan, because we already have our possession on its eastern side."
20 And Moses said to them: "If you accomplish what you have promised, you may go out, equipped for battle, before the Lord.
21 And let every fighting man cross over the Jordan, until the Lord overthrows his enemies,
22 and all the land is subjected to him. Then you will be guiltless with the Lord and with Israel, and you will obtain the regions which you desire before the Lord.
23 But if you do not do what you have said, no one could doubt that you will have sinned against God. And know this: your sin shall overtake you.
24 Therefore, build cities for your little ones, and pens and stables for your sheep and cattle; and fulfill what you have promised."
25 And the sons of Gad and of Ruben said to Moses: "We are your servants, we shall do what you, our ruler, orders.
26 We will leave behind our little ones, and our wives, and the sheep and cattle, in the cities of Gilead.
27 And we, your servants, all well-equipped, will go forth to battle, just as you, our ruler, has spoken."
28 Therefore, Moses instructed Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes of the families throughout the tribes of Israel, and he said to them:
29 "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben cross over the Jordan with you, all armed for war before the Lord, and if the land becomes subject to you, give them Gilead as a possession.
30 But if they are not willing to cross with you, armed, into the land of Canaan, then let them receive places among you for their dwellings."
31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben responded: "Just as the Lord has spoken to his servants, so shall we do.
32 We will go forth, armed, before the Lord into the land of Canaan; and we acknowledge that we have already received our possession across the Jordan."
33 And so, Moses gave to the sons of Gad and of Ruben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and their land with its surrounding cities.
34 Therefore, the sons of Gad built up Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
35 and Atroth and Shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,
36 and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran, as fortified cities with pens for their cattle.
37 Yet truly, the sons of Ruben built up Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,
38 and Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names having been changed) and Sibmah, appointing names for the cities which they had built.
39 Moreover, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, continued on within Gilead, and they devastated it, putting to death its inhabitant, the Amorite.
40 Therefore, Moses gave the land of Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it.
41 But Jair, the son of Manasseh, went out and occupied its villages, which he called Havoth Jair, that is, the Villages of Jair.
42 Likewise, Nobah went forth and captured Kenath with its villages. And he called it by his own name, Nobah.
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Numbers 32: CPDV
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Numbers 32
32
Land East of the Jordan River Is Settled
(Deuteronomy 3.12-22)
1The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned a lot of cattle and sheep, and they saw that the regions of Jazer and Gilead had good pastureland. 2So they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of Israel and said, 3-4“The Lord has helped us capture the land around the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon. That's good pastureland, and since we own cattle and sheep, 5would you let us stay here east of the Jordan River and have this land as our own?”
6Moses answered:
You mean you'd stay here while the rest of the Israelites go into battle? 7If you did that, it would discourage the others from crossing over into the land the Lord promised them. 8#Nu 13.17-33. This is exactly what happened when I sent your ancestors from Kadesh-Barnea to explore the land. 9They went as far as Eshcol Valley, then returned and told the people that we should not enter it. 10#Nu 14.26-35. The Lord became very angry. 11And he said that no one who was 20 years or older when they left Egypt would enter the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Not one of those people believed in the Lord's power, 12except Caleb and Joshua.#32.12 Caleb and Joshua: See the note at 14.30. They remained faithful to the Lord, 13but he was so angry with the others that he forced them to wander around in the desert for 40 years. By that time everyone who had sinned against him had died.
14Now you people of Reuben and Gad are doing the same thing and making the Lord even angrier. 15If you reject the Lord, he will once again abandon his people and leave them here in the desert. And you will be to blame!
16The men from Reuben and Gad replied:
Let us build places to keep our sheep and goats, and towns for our wives and children, 17where they can stay and be safe. Then we'll prepare to fight and lead the other tribes into battle. 18We will stay with them until they have settled in their own tribal lands. 19The land on this side of the Jordan River will be ours, so we won't expect to receive any on the other side.
20Moses said:
You promised that you would be ready to fight for the Lord. 21You also agreed to cross the Jordan and stay with the rest of the Israelites, until the Lord forces our enemies out of the land. If you do these things, 22then after the Lord helps Israel capture the land, you can return to your own land. You will no longer have to stay with the others. 23But if you don't keep your promise, you will sin against the Lord and be punished.
24Go ahead and build towns for your wives and children, and places for your sheep and goats. Just be sure to do what you have promised.
25The men from Reuben and Gad answered:
Sir, we will do just what you have said. 26Our wives and children and sheep and cattle will stay here in the towns in Gilead. 27But those of us who are prepared for battle will cross the Jordan and fight for the Lord.
28 #
Js 1.12-15. Then Moses said to Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders, 29“Make sure that the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan River with you. If they do, then after the land is in your control, give them the region of Gilead as their tribal land. 30But if they break their promise, they will receive land on the other side of the Jordan, like the rest of the tribes.”
31The tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We are your servants and will do whatever the Lord has commanded. 32We will cross the Jordan River, ready to fight for the Lord in Canaan. But the land we will inherit as our own will be on this side of the river.”
33So Moses gave the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh#32.33 half of Manasseh: Or “East Manasseh.” the territory and towns that King Sihon the Amorite had ruled, as well as the territory and towns that King Og of Bashan had ruled.#32.33 ruled: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 33.
34The tribe of Gad rebuilt the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran. They built walls around them and also built places to keep their sheep and goats.
37The tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Sibmah, as well as the towns that used to be known as Nebo and Baal-Meon. They renamed all those places.
39The clan of Machir from the tribe of East Manasseh went to the region of Gilead, captured its towns, and forced out the Amorites. 40So Moses gave the Machirites the region of Gilead, and they settled there.
41Jair from the Manasseh tribe captured villages and renamed them “Villages of Jair.”#32.41 Villages of Jair: Or “Havvoth-Jair.”
42Nobah captured the town of Kenath with its villages and renamed it Nobah.
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