Bible in Basic English
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 32:8-1964, Bible in Basic English
“Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh–barnea to see the land. For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them. And the Lord’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the Lord. And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed. And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war, And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith. So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto 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 the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, And Beth–nimrah, and Beth–haran, fenced cities: and folds for sheep. And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, And Nebo, and Baal–meon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded. And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it. And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein. And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth–jair. And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name. ”
“Your fathers did so 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 discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which Yahweh had given them. Yahweh's anger was kindled in that day, and he swore, saying, 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; because they have followed Yahweh completely.' Yahweh's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander back and forth in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, who had done evil in the sight of Yahweh, was consumed. "Behold, you have risen up in your fathers' place, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Yahweh toward Israel. For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all this people." They came near to him, and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones: but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward." Moses said to them, "If you will do this thing, if you will arm yourselves to go before Yahweh to the war, and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven out his enemies from before him, and the land is subdued before Yahweh; then afterward you shall return, and be guiltless towards Yahweh, and towards Israel; and this land shall be to you for a possession before Yahweh. "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh; and be sure your sin will find you out. Build cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth." The children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, "Your servants will do as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock, shall be there in the cities of Gilead; but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before Yahweh to battle, as my lord says." So Moses commanded concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' [houses] of the tribes of the children of Israel. Moses said to them, "If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man who is armed to battle, before Yahweh, and the land shall be subdued before you; then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan." The children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, "As Yahweh has said to your servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before Yahweh into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance [shall remain] with us beyond the Jordan." Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to the half-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, according to the cities of it with [their] borders, even the cities of the surrounding land. The children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, and Atrothshophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah, and Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran: fortified cities, and folds for sheep. The children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim, and Nebo, and Baal Meon, (their names being changed), and Sibmah: and they gave other names to the cities which they built. The children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein. Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he lived therein. Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns, and called them Havvoth Jair. Nobah went and took Kenath, and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.”
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.