Read the Bible

¹ Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, look, the place was a place for cattle;² the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying,³ Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,⁴ the land which Yahweh smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle; and your slaves have cattle.⁵ And they said, If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your slaves for a possession; don't bring us over the Jordan.⁶ And Moses said to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Reuben, Shall your brothers go to the war, and shall you sit here?⁷ And why do you discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from going over into the land which Yahweh has given them?⁸ Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.⁹ For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel, that they should not go into the land which Yahweh had given them.¹⁰ And Yahweh's anger was kindled in that day, and he swore, saying,¹¹ Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:¹² save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have wholly followed Yahweh.¹³ And Yahweh's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of Yahweh, was consumed.¹⁴ And, look, you have risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Yahweh toward Israel.¹⁵ For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all this people.

¹⁶ And they came near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:¹⁷ but we ourselves will go armed, hastily before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.¹⁸ We will not return to our houses, until the sons of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.¹⁹ For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward; because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward.²⁰ And Moses said to them, If you will do this thing, if you will arm yourselves to go before Yahweh to the war,²¹ and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven out his enemies from before him,²² and the land is subdued before Yahweh; then afterward you shall return, and be innocent toward Yahweh, and toward Israel; and this land shall be to you for a possession before Yahweh.²³ But if you will not do so, look, you have sinned against Yahweh; and be sure your sin will find you out.²⁴ Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth.²⁵ And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, Your slaves will do as my lord commands.²⁶ Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead;²⁷ but your slaves will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before Yahweh to battle, as my lord says.

²⁸ So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' [houses] of the tribes of the sons of Israel.²⁹ And Moses said to them, If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before Yahweh, and the land shall be subdued before you; then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:³⁰ but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.³¹ And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, As Yahweh has said to your slaves, so we will do.³² We will pass over armed before Yahweh into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance [shall remain] with us beyond the Jordan.³³ And Moses gave to them, even to the sons of Gad, and to the sons 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, according to the cities thereof with [their] borders, even the cities of the land round about.³⁴ And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,³⁵ and Atrothshophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,³⁶ and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep.³⁷ And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,³⁸ and Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sibmah: and they gave other names to the cities which they built.³⁹ And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and the Amorites that were therein were dispossessed.⁴⁰ And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.⁴¹ And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the towns thereof, and called them Havvoth-jair.⁴² And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.