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.”

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