¹ Now, much cattle, had come into the possession of the sons of Reuben and of the sons of Gad, an exceeding mighty number. And when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, lo! the place, was a place for cattle.

² So the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came in,—and spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of assembly, saying,

³ As touching Ataroth and Dibon, and Jazer and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh,—and Sebam and Nebo, and Beon-

⁴ the land which Yahweh smote before the assembly of Israel, a land for cattle, it is,—and, thy servants, have cattle.

⁵ And they said—If we have found favour in thine eyes, let this land be given unto thy servants, for a possession,—do not take us over the Jordan.

⁶ Then said Moses unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Reuben,—Shall, your brethren, go into the war, and ye, settle down here?

⁷ Wherefore, then, should ye dissuade the heart of the sons of Israel, from passing over into the land which Yahweh hath given to them?

⁸ Thus, did your fathers,—when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea, to view the land,

⁹ and they went up as far as the ravine of Eschol, and viewed the land, and then dissuaded the heart of the sons of Israel from entering into the land, which Yahweh had given them.

¹⁰ Then was the anger of Yahweh kindled on that day,—and he sware, saying:

¹¹ Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upwards, shall see the soil, which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob, because they have not followed after me fully;

¹² save Caleb son of Jephunneh, the Kenezite, and Joshua, son of Nun,—for they followed after Yahweh, fully.

¹³ So the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel, and he made them wander in the desert, forty years,—until all the generation who had done the evil in the eyes of Yahweh, had wasted away!

¹⁴ Lo! therefore, ye have arisen in the room of your fathers, a brood of sinful men,—to heap up yet more upon the heat of the anger of Yahweh, towards Israel.

¹⁵ If ye do turn away from following him, then will he yet again leave them behind in the desert,—so shall ye bring destruction upon all this people.

¹⁶ Then came they near unto him, and said, Folds, for flocks, would we build for our cattle, here,—and cities for our little ones;

¹⁷ but, we, would arm ourselves promptly, before the sons of Israel, until that we have brought them into their place,—so should our little ones remain in the fortified cities, because of the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁸ We would not return unto our houses,—until the sons of Israel have possessed themselves each man, of his inheritance.

¹⁹ For we would not inherit with them, over the Jordan, and onwards,—because our inheritance hath come unto us on this side the Jordan towards sunrise.

²⁰ And Moses said unto them, If ye will indeed do this thing,—if ye will arm yourselves, before Yahweh, for the war;

²¹ and every armed man of you pass over the Jordan before Yahweh,—until he hath dispossessed his enemies, from before him;

²² and the land be subdued before Yahweh then afterwards, shall ye return, and shall be acquitted by Yahweh and by Israel,—and this land shall be yours for a possession before Yahweh.

²³ But, if ye shall not do this, lo! ye will have sinned against Yahweh,—and take note of your sin, that it will find you out.

²⁴ Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your flocks,—and then that which hath gone forth from your mouth, ye shall do.

²⁵ Then spake the sons of Gad, and the sons of Reuben unto Moses, saying,—thy servants, will do, as, my lord, is giving command.

²⁶ Our little ones, our wives, our cattle, and all our beasts, shall remain there in the cities of Gilead;

²⁷ and thy servants, will pass over every one armed for war, before Yahweh to battle,—as, my lord is speaking.

²⁸ So Moses gave command concerning them, unto Eleazar the priest and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes, of the sons of Israel;

²⁹ and Moses said unto them—If the sons of Gad and the son of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every one armed for the war before Yahweh, and the land be subdued before you, then shall ye give unto them the land of Gilead, for a possession.

³⁰ But, if they will not pass over armed, with you, then shall they accept a possession in your midst, in the land of Canaan.

³¹ Then responded the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, saying,—That which Yahweh had spoken unto thy servants, so, will we do.

³² We, will pass over armed, before Yahweh into the land of Canaan,—then shall be ours, the possession of our inheritance across the Jordan.

³³ So then Moses gave unto them even unto the sons of Gad and unto the sons of Reuben and unto the half tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land by her cities with boundaries, even the cities of the land round about.

³⁴ And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth,—and Aroer;

³⁵ and Atroth-shophan and Jazer, and Jogbehah;

³⁶ and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran,—fortified cities and folds for flocks.

³⁷ And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh,—and Kiriathaim,

³⁸ and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed, and Sibmah,—and they gave names to the cities which they built.

³⁹ Then went the sons of Machir son of Manasseh to Gilead, and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein,

⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead unto Machir son of Manasseh, and he dwelt therein.

⁴¹ And Jair, son of Manasseh, went, and captured their encampments,—and called them Havvoth-jair [="The encampments of Jair"].

⁴² And, Nobah, went, and captured Kenath, with the villages thereof,—and called it Nobah, after his own name.