32The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer^c and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock. ²So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community and said, ³“The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,^d ⁴which the Lord struck down^e before the community of Israel,^f is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.” ⁵They said, “If we have found favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.”

⁶But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? ⁷Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them? ⁸That’s what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.^g ⁹After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. ¹⁰So the Lord’s anger burned that day, and he swore an oath:^h ¹¹‘Because they did not remain loyal to me,ⁱ none of the men twenty years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob^j—¹²none except Caleb^k son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua^l son of Nun, because they did remain loyal to the Lord.’ ¹³The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight was gone.^m ¹⁴And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your ancestors’ place adding even more to the Lord’s burning anger against Israel. ¹⁵If you turn back from following him,ⁿ he will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.”

¹⁶Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheep pens here for our livestock and cities for our dependents. ¹⁷But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place.^o Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance.^p ¹⁹Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”^q

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Cross references

c Nm 21:32; Jos 13:25; 21:39; 2Sm 24:5
d Nm 21:30; 33:47; Dt 32:49; 1Ch 5:8; Is 15:2; 46:1; Jr 48:1,22
e Nm 21:24
f Nm 21:24,34
g Nm 13:1–3,32–33; Dt 1:22–28
h Dt 1:34–36
i Nm 14:22–24,29–30
j Nm 14:29
k Nm 14:6,24,30,38; 26:65; Dt 1:36; Jos 14:6,8–9; 15:7
l Ex 33:11; Nm 27:18–23
m Nm 14:33–35; 26:64–65
n Jos 22:16–18; 2Ch 7:19–20
o Dt 3:18; Jos 1:13–15; 4:12–13
p Jos 22:4,9
q Jos 13:8