1 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. And when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, behold, the place [was] a place for cattle.
2 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, and to the rulers of the congregation, saying,
3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
4 the land which the LORD struck before the congregation of Israel, [is] a land for cattle, and your servants [have] cattle.
5 And, they said, If we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession; do not bring us over Jordan.
6 And Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, Shall your brothers go to war, and shall you sit here?
7 And why do you break the heart of the sons of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?
8 So your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
9 For when they went up into the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they broke the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
10 And the LORD's anger was kindled the same time, and He swore, saying,
11 Surely, none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and up, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not fully followed Me,
12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have fully followed the LORD.
13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years until all the generation which had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.
14 And behold, you are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to add still more to the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.
15 For if you turn away from after Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness. And you shall destroy all this people.
16 And they came near to him and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones,
17 but we ourselves will go ready armed before the sons of Israel until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fenced cities because of those who live in the land.
18 We will not return to our houses until the sons of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of Jordan, or forward, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of Jordan, eastward.
20 And Moses said to them, If you will do this thing, if you will go armed before the LORD to war,
21 and all of you will go armed over Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies from before Him,
22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterwards you shall return and be guiltless before the LORD and before Israel. And this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD. And be sure your sin will find you out.
24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do that which has come out of your mouth.
25 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses saying, Your servants will do as my lord commands.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead.
27 But your servants will go over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord says.
28 So regarding them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
29 And Moses said to them, If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will go with you over Jordan, each armed to battle before the LORD, and the land shall be humbled before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession.
30 But if they will not go over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do.
32 We will go over armed before the LORD [into] the land of Canaan, so that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan [may be] ours.
33 And Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, and to the half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities in the borders, the cities of the land all around.
34 And the sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer,
35 and Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,
36 and Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified cities. And they built folds for sheep.
37 And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjath-aim,
38 and Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names being changed) and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and put out the Amorite who [was] in it.
40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it.
41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns of it, and called them Havoth-jair.
42 And Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.