Numbers 32:1–19

The Tribes East of the Jordan

32The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a lot of livestock. When they saw how suitable the land of Jazer and Gilead was for cattle, ²they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of the community and said, ^3–4“This region which the Lord has helped the Israelites to occupy—the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon—is good land for livestock, and we have so much livestock. ⁵Please give us this land as our property, and do not make us cross the River Jordan and settle there.”

⁶Moses replied, “Do you want to stay here while your fellow-Israelites go to war? ⁷How dare you try to discourage the people of Israel from crossing the Jordan into the land which the Lord has given them? ^8*That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. ^9*They went as far as the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, but when they returned, they discouraged the people from entering the land which the Lord had given them. ^10*The Lord was angry that day and made a promise: ^11*‘I swear that because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or older who came out of Egypt will enter the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ ^12*This included everyone, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun; they remained loyal to the Lord. ^13*The Lord was angry with the people and made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation that had displeased him was dead. ¹⁴And now you have taken your fathers’ place, a new generation of sinful men ready to bring down the fierce anger of the Lord on Israel again. ¹⁵If you people of Reuben and Gad refuse to follow him now, he will once again abandon all these people in the wilderness, and you will be responsible for their destruction.”

¹⁶They approached Moses and said, “First, allow us to build stone enclosures here for our sheep and fortified towns for our dependants. ¹⁷Then we will be ready to go with our fellow-Israelites into battle and lead the attack until we have settled them in the land that will be theirs. In the meantime, our dependants can live here in the fortified towns, safe from the people of this land. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until all the other Israelites have taken possession of the land assigned to them. ¹⁹We will not take possession of any property among them on the other side of the Jordan, because we have received our share here east of the Jordan.”