The Reuben and Gad tribes want to have land east of the Jordan River
1The Reuben tribe and Gad tribe had a lot of animals. They had very big herds of animals. They saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead had good fields for their animals. 2They went to Moses, the priest Eleazar and the leaders of the people and said: 3-4‘The Lord helped the Israelites defeat the land where the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon are. This is land for animals and we have got a lot of animals. 5If you want to be good to us, please give us this land to be our own. Do not tell us that we must stay on the other side of the Jordan River.’
6Moses said to the Gad and Reuben people: ‘Do you think it is right that the other tribes go to war while you stay here? 7If you stay here, the other Israelites will become afraid to go to the land that the Lord gave them. 8You are doing the same as your forefathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see what the land was like. 9They went to the Grape Valley and looked at the land, but they made the other Israelites afraid to go into the land that the Lord had given them. 10The Lord became angry that day and He said: 11“As sure as I live, the people who are 20 years old or older and who came out of Egypt will not see the land that I promised to give Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because your forefathers stopped believing in Me. 12Caleb, son of Jephunneh, son of Kenaz, and Joshua son of Nun, will go into the land because they did not stop believing in Me.” 13The Lord became angry with the Israelites. He made them stay in the desert for 40 years until all the people of that generation had died. The Lord did not like that generation. 14Now you come here to do the same. You are sinners like your forefathers and you are making the Lord even more angry with the Israelites. 15If you don't do what the Lord wants, He will make the people go back into the desert and leave them, then you will cause all these people to die.’
16Then the people of Reuben and Gad answered Moses and said: ‘We want to build kraals for our sheep and goats here, and we want to build towns for our children, 17but our men will be ready to go to war and we will help bring the Israelites to their land. We want our children and older people to stay in the cities that have strong walls to protect them against the people who live in the land.
18But we will first help all the Israelites to get their land, and only then will we come back to our homes. 19We do not want to have land with the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan River. We want to have this land, on this side of the Jordan River, east of the river.’
20Moses said to them: ‘You can have this land if you do what you say, if you are ready to go to war for the Lord 21and all of you who can fight go over the Jordan River and help make war until the Lord has chased away all his enemies. 22After the Lord has helped you and the other Israelites defeat the land, you can come back, because then you will have done what you had to do for the Lord and for the other Israelites. Then this land will be your land. The Lord gives it to you. 23But if you don't do what you have promised now, then you are sinning_against the Lord and He will know. 24You may build towns for your children and old people and kraals for your sheep and goats, but you must do what you have promised.’
25The people of Gad and Reuben said: ‘Sir, we will do what you say. 26Our children and old people, our wives, sheep, goats and all our animals will stay here in the towns of Gilead, 27but we will go with the tribes over the river. Each one of us will take weapons to make war for the Lord as you have said.’
28Then Moses told the priest Eleazar and Joshua, son of Nun, and the chiefs of the tribes_of_Israel what they must do with the Gad and the Reuben people. 29Moses said: ‘The men of Gad and Reuben must go with you over the Jordan River and they must take their weapons with them to fight for the Lord. If they do that and you defeat the land, then you must give the land of Gilead to them. It must be their part of the land. 30But if they do not take their weapons with them over the river, then they must get land with you in the land of Canaan on the western side of the river.’
31The people of Gad and Reuben answered: ‘We will do what the Lord has told us to do. 32We will take our weapons and go over the river with you to the land of Canaan and fight for the Lord. But the land that we get must be on this side of the Jordan River.’
33Moses then gave them the land. He gave it to the Reuben tribe, the Gad tribe and the half tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph. This was the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. Moses gave them the land with the towns and the fields around the towns. 34The Gad tribe built the towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-Nimrah and Beth-Haran. These cities had strong walls, fields and kraals for sheep and goats.
37The Reuben tribe built the towns of Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38Nebo, Baal-Meon and Sibmah. They gave new names to the towns that they built.
39The family of Makir, son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and they defeated the land. They chased away the Amorites who lived there. 40Moses gave the land of Gilead to Makir, son of Manasseh, and Makir went to stay there. 41Jair, son of Manasseh, and his men defeated many towns and he named them the Jair towns. 42Nobah defeated the town of Kenath with its villages and he named the town Nobah, the same as his name.
