1Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great number of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that behold the place was a place for livestock, 2the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4the land which Jehovah has struck before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock. 5Therefore they said, If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not cause us to pass over the Jordan. 6And Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben: Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 7Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which Jehovah has given them? 8Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 9For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which Jehovah had given them. 10And the anger of Jehovah burned that day, and He swore, saying, 11Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed Jehovah. 13And the anger of Jehovah burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah was destroyed. 14And behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of Jehovah against Israel. 15For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you shall have destroyed all this people. 16And they came near to him and said: We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children 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. 18We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has received his inheritance. 19For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan. 20And Moses said to them: If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before Jehovah for war, 21and you all cross over the Jordan armed before Jehovah until He has driven out His enemies before Him, 22and the land is subdued before Jehovah, then afterward you may return and be blameless before Jehovah and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before Jehovah. 23But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against Jehovah; and recognize that your sin will find you out. 24Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth. 25And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock shall be there in the cities of Gilead; 27but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before Jehovah to battle, just as my lord says. 28So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. 29And Moses said to them: If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before Jehovah, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 31And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying: As Jehovah has said to your servants, so we will do. 32We will cross over armed before Jehovah into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan. 33And Moses gave to the sons of Gad, 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 with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding land. 34And the sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, 36Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim, 38Nebo and Baal-meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 39And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. 41And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured its small towns, and called them Havoth-jair. 42And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.