Bible in Basic English
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a great number of cattle: and when they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle;
The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the meeting,
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
The land which the Lord gave into the hands of the children of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle.
And they said, With your approval, let this land be given to your servants as their heritage: do not take us over Jordan.
And Moses said to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben, Are your brothers to go to the war, while you take your rest here?
Why would you take from the children of Israel the desire to go over into the land which the Lord has given them?
So did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they took from the children of Israel the desire to go into the land which the Lord had given them.
And at that time the Lord was moved to wrath, and made an oath, saying,
Truly, not one of the men of twenty years old and over who came out of Egypt will see the land which I gave by oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; because they have not been true to me with all their heart;
But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua, the son of Nun: because they have been true to the Lord.
Then the Lord was angry with Israel, and he made them wanderers in the waste land for forty years? till all that generation who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord was dead.
And now you have come to take the place of your fathers, another generation of sinners, increasing the wrath of the Lord against Israel.
For if you are turned away from him, he will send them wandering again in the waste land; and you will be the cause of the destruction of all this people.
Then they came to him, and said, We will make safe places for our cattle here, and towns for our little ones;
But we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel till we have taken them to their place: but our little ones will be safe in the walled towns against the people of the land.
We will not come back to our houses till every one of the children of Israel has come into his heritage.
For we will not have our heritage with them on the other side of Jordan and forward; because our heritage has come to us on this side of Jordan to the east.
Then Moses said to them, If you will do this, arming yourselves to go before the Lord to the war,
Every armed man of you going across Jordan before the Lord till he has overcome and sent in flight all who are against him,
And the land is under the rule of the Lord: then after that you may come back, having done no wrong to the Lord and to Israel; and this land will be yours for your heritage before the Lord.
But if you do not do this, then you are sinners against the Lord; and you may be certain that your sin will have its reward.
So get to work building your towns for your little ones, and safe places for your sheep; and do as you have said.
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben said to Moses, Your servants will do as my lord says.
Our little ones, our wives, and our flocks, and all our cattle, will be there in the towns of Gilead;
But your servants will go over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to the fight, as my lord says.
So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of families of the tribes of the children of Israel.
And Moses said to them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben go with you over Jordan, every man armed for the fight before the Lord, and all the land is given into your hands, then let them have the land of Gilead for a heritage:
But if they do not go over with you armed, they will have to take their heritage with you in the land of Canaan.
Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben said, As the Lord has said to your servants, so will we do.
We will go over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and you will give us our heritage on this side of Jordan.
So Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan, all the land with its towns and the country round them.
And the children of Gad were the builders of Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer;
And Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah;
And Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran: walled towns and shut-in places for sheep.
And the children of Reuben were the builders of Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim;
And Nebo and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sibmah: and they gave other names to the towns they made.
And the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and took it, driving out the Amorites who were living there.
And Moses gave Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh; and he made it his living-place.
And Jair, the son of Manasseh, went and took the towns of Gilead, naming them Havvoth-Jair.
And Nobah went and took Kenath and its small towns, naming it Nobah, after himself.
— Numbers 32:1-1964, Bible in Basic English
“The Petition of the Reubenites and Gadites Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, the land that the LORD subdued before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle.” So they said,“If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River.” Moses’ Response Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites,“Must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the LORD has given them? Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the LORD had given them. So the anger of the LORD was kindled that day, and he swore, ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’ So the LORD’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the LORD was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the LORD against the Israelites. For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction.” The Offer of the Reubenites and Gadites Then they came very close to him and said,“We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.” Then Moses replied,“If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the LORD, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the LORD until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the LORD’s sight. “But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the LORD. And know that your sin will find you out. So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said you would do.” So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses,“Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the LORD’s presence, just as my lord says.” So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. Moses said to them:“If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the LORD’s presence, and you conquer the land, then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan.” Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered,“Your servants will do what the LORD has spoken. We will cross armed in the LORD’s presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River.” Land Assignment So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them. The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and constructed pens for their flocks. The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, Nebo, Baal Meon(with a change of name), and Sibmah. They renamed the cities they built. The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. So Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he lived there. Now Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their small towns and named them Havvoth Jair. Then Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.”
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a great number of cattle: and when they saw that the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle;
The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the meeting,
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
The land which the Lord gave into the hands of the children of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle.
And they said, With your approval, let this land be given to your servants as their heritage: do not take us over Jordan.
And Moses said to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben, Are your brothers to go to the war, while you take your rest here?
Why would you take from the children of Israel the desire to go over into the land which the Lord has given them?
So did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they took from the children of Israel the desire to go into the land which the Lord had given them.
And at that time the Lord was moved to wrath, and made an oath, saying,
Truly, not one of the men of twenty years old and over who came out of Egypt will see the land which I gave by oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; because they have not been true to me with all their heart;
But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua, the son of Nun: because they have been true to the Lord.
Then the Lord was angry with Israel, and he made them wanderers in the waste land for forty years? till all that generation who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord was dead.
And now you have come to take the place of your fathers, another generation of sinners, increasing the wrath of the Lord against Israel.
For if you are turned away from him, he will send them wandering again in the waste land; and you will be the cause of the destruction of all this people.
Then they came to him, and said, We will make safe places for our cattle here, and towns for our little ones;
But we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel till we have taken them to their place: but our little ones will be safe in the walled towns against the people of the land.
We will not come back to our houses till every one of the children of Israel has come into his heritage.
For we will not have our heritage with them on the other side of Jordan and forward; because our heritage has come to us on this side of Jordan to the east.
Then Moses said to them, If you will do this, arming yourselves to go before the Lord to the war,
Every armed man of you going across Jordan before the Lord till he has overcome and sent in flight all who are against him,
And the land is under the rule of the Lord: then after that you may come back, having done no wrong to the Lord and to Israel; and this land will be yours for your heritage before the Lord.
But if you do not do this, then you are sinners against the Lord; and you may be certain that your sin will have its reward.
So get to work building your towns for your little ones, and safe places for your sheep; and do as you have said.
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben said to Moses, Your servants will do as my lord says.
Our little ones, our wives, and our flocks, and all our cattle, will be there in the towns of Gilead;
But your servants will go over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to the fight, as my lord says.
So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of families of the tribes of the children of Israel.
And Moses said to them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben go with you over Jordan, every man armed for the fight before the Lord, and all the land is given into your hands, then let them have the land of Gilead for a heritage:
But if they do not go over with you armed, they will have to take their heritage with you in the land of Canaan.
Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben said, As the Lord has said to your servants, so will we do.
We will go over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and you will give us our heritage on this side of Jordan.
So Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan, all the land with its towns and the country round them.
And the children of Gad were the builders of Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer;
And Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah;
And Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran: walled towns and shut-in places for sheep.
And the children of Reuben were the builders of Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim;
And Nebo and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Sibmah: and they gave other names to the towns they made.
And the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and took it, driving out the Amorites who were living there.
And Moses gave Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh; and he made it his living-place.
And Jair, the son of Manasseh, went and took the towns of Gilead, naming them Havvoth-Jair.
And Nobah went and took Kenath and its small towns, naming it Nobah, after himself.