Numbers 32–33

The Tribes on the East Side of the Jordan River

32The tribes of Reuben and Gad had very large herds and flocks. They looked at the lands of Jazer and Gilead. They saw that those lands were just right for livestock.

²So they came to Moses and the priest Eleazar. They also came to the leaders of the community. They said, ³“We have seen the cities of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah and Heshbon. We’ve seen Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon. ⁴All of them are in the land the Lord has brought under Israel’s control. This land is just right for livestock. And we have livestock.

⁵“We hope you are pleased with us,” they continued. “If you are, please give us this land. Then it will belong to us. But don’t make us go across the Jordan River.”

⁶Moses spoke to the people of Gad and Reuben. He said, “Should the rest of us go to war while you stay here? ⁷The Lord has given the land of Canaan to the people of Israel. So why would you want to keep them from going over into it?

⁸“That’s what your fathers did. I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land. ⁹They went up to the Valley of Eshcol and looked at the land. Then they talked the people of Israel out of entering the land the Lord had given them.

¹⁰“The Lord’s anger was stirred up that day. So he took an oath and made a promise. He said, ¹¹‘Not one of the men who is 20 years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land. They have not followed me with their whole heart. I took an oath and promised to give the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

¹²“ ‘But not one of these men will see it except Caleb and Joshua. Caleb is the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite. And Joshua is the son of Nun. They will see the land. They followed me with their whole heart.’

¹³“The Lord’s anger burned against Israel. He made them wander around in the desert for 40 years. They wandered until all of the people who had done evil in his sight had died.

¹⁴“Now here you are, you bunch of sinners! You have taken the place of your fathers. And you are making the Lord even more angry with Israel. ¹⁵What if you turn away from following him? Then he’ll leave all of these people in the desert again. And it will be your fault when they are destroyed.”

¹⁶Then they came up to Moses. They said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock. We would also like to build cities for our women and children.

¹⁷“But we’re ready to prepare ourselves for battle. We’re even ready to go ahead of the people of Israel. We’ll go with them until we’ve brought them to their place. While we’re gone, our women and children will live in cities that have high walls around them. That will keep them safe from the people who are living in this land.

¹⁸“We won’t return to our homes until all of the people of Israel have received their share of the land.

¹⁹“We won’t receive any share with them on the west side of the Jordan River. We’ve already received our share here on the east side.”

²⁰Then Moses said to them, “Do what you have promised to do. Prepare yourselves to fight for the Lord. ²¹Prepare yourselves and go across the Jordan River. Fight for the Lord until he has driven out his enemies in front of him.

²²“When the land is under the Lord’s control, you can come back here. Your duty to the Lord and Israel will be over. Then the Lord will give you this land as your own.

²³“But what if you fail to do your duty? Then you will be sinning against the Lord. And you can be sure that your sin will be discovered. It will be brought out into the open.

²⁴“So build up cities for your women and children. Make sheep pens for your flocks. But do what you have promised to do.”

²⁵The people of Gad and Reuben spoke to Moses. They said, “We will do just as you command. ²⁶Our children and wives will remain here in the cities of Gilead. So will our flocks and herds. ²⁷But we will prepare ourselves for battle. We’ll go across the Jordan River and fight for the Lord. We will do just as you have said.”

²⁸Then Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar. He gave the same orders to Joshua, the son of Nun. He also spoke to the family heads of the tribes of Israel.

²⁹He said, “The men of Gad and Reuben must prepare themselves for battle. They must go across the Jordan River with you. They must help you fight for the Lord. They must stay with you until the land has been brought under your control. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their own.

³⁰“But what if they don’t get ready for battle? What if they don’t go across the Jordan with you? Then they must accept a share with you in Canaan.”

³¹The people of Gad and Reuben gave their answer. They said, “We will do what the Lord has said. ³²We’ll get ready for battle. We’ll go across the Jordan into Canaan. We’ll fight for the Lord there. But the property we receive will be on this side of the Jordan River.”

³³Then Moses gave their land to them. He gave it to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was Joseph’s son. One part of that land had belonged to the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. The other part had belonged to the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan. Moses gave that whole land to those two and a half tribes. It included its cities and the territory around them.

³⁴The people of Gad built up the cities of Dibon, Ataroth and Aroer. ³⁵They built up Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran. They built a high wall around each of those cities. They also built sheep pens for their flocks.

³⁷The people of Reuben built up Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim. ³⁸They also built up Nebo, Baal Meon and Sibmah. They gave new names to the cities they had built up.

³⁹The people of Makir, the son of Manasseh, went to the land of Gilead. They captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there. ⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the people of Makir, the son of Manasseh. And they settled there. ⁴¹Jair was a man in the family line of Manasseh. Jair captured Gilead’s settlements. He called them Havvoth Jair. ⁴²Nobah captured Kenath and the settlements that were around it. He named it after himself.

The Places Where Israel Stopped During Their Journey

33Here are the places where the people of Israel stopped during their journey. When they came out of Egypt, they marched in companies like an army. Moses and Aaron led them. ²The Lord commanded Moses to record their journey. Here are the places where they stopped.

³The people of Israel started out from Rameses. It was the 15th day of the first month. It was the day after the Passover Feast. They marched out boldly in plain sight of all of the Egyptians. ⁴The Egyptians were burying all of their oldest sons. The Lord had struck them down. He had done it when he punished their gods.

⁵The people of Israel left Rameses and camped at Succoth.

⁶They left Succoth and camped at Etham. Etham was on the edge of the desert.

⁷They left Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth. It was east of Baal Zephon. They camped near Migdol.

⁸They left Pi Hahiroth. Then they passed through the Red Sea into the desert. They traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham. Then they camped at Marah.

⁹They left Marah and went to Elim. Twelve springs and 70 palm trees were there. So they camped at Elim.

¹⁰They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

¹¹They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.

¹²They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴They left Alush and camped at Rephidim. But there was no water there for the people to drink.

¹⁵They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.

¹⁶They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

¹⁷They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

²⁰They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²²They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.

²⁹They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.

³²They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.

³³They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.

³⁶They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh. Kadesh was in the Desert of Zin.

³⁷They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor. It was on the border of Edom.

³⁸The priest Aaron went up Mount Hor when the Lord commanded him to. That’s where he died. It happened on the first day of the fifth month. It was the 40th year after the people of Israel came out of Egypt. ³⁹Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the Negev Desert in Canaan. He heard that the people of Israel were coming.

⁴¹They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴²They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim. It was on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵They left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad.

⁴⁶They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

⁴⁷They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountain range of Abarim near Nebo.

⁴⁸They left the mountain range of Abarim and camped on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho. ⁴⁹They camped there along the Jordan River from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.

⁵⁰On the flatlands of Moab the Lord spoke to Moses. He spoke to him by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, ⁵¹“Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘Go across the Jordan River into Canaan. ⁵²Drive out all those who are living in the land. The statues of their gods are made out of stone and metal. Destroy all of those statues. And destroy…