Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



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. read more.
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.

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went over armed before the children of Israel as Moses had said to them: About forty thousand armed for war went over before the Lord to the fight, to the lowlands of Jericho.

Then Joshua sent for the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, And said to them, You have kept all the orders of Moses, the Lord's servant, and have done everything I gave you orders to do: You have now been with your brothers for a long time; till this day you have been doing the orders of the Lord your God. read more.
And now the Lord your God has given your brothers rest, as he said: so now you may go back to your tents, to the land of your heritage, which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave to you on the other side of Jordan. Only take great care to do the orders and the law which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you; to have love for the Lord your God and to go in all his ways; and to keep his laws and to be true to him and to be his servants with all your heart and with all your soul. Then Joshua gave them his blessing and sent them away: and they went back to their tents. Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a heritage in Bashan; but to the other half, Joshua gave a heritage among their brothers on the west side of Jordan. Now when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he gave them his blessing, And said to them, Go back with much wealth to your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver and gold and brass and iron, and with a very great store of clothing; give your brothers a part of the goods taken in the war.


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, read more.
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 when he had come to his house, he got his knife, and took the woman, cutting her up bone by bone into twelve parts, which he sent through all Israel.

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.

And he took two oxen and, cutting them up, sent them through all the land of Israel by the hand of runners, saying, If any man does not come out after Saul and Samuel, this will be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord came on the people and they came out like one man. And he had them numbered in Bezek: the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.


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, read more.
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 news came to the children of Israel, See, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have put up an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the country by Jordan on the side which is Israel's. Then all the meeting of the children of Israel, hearing this, came together at Shiloh to go up against them to war. And the children of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, read more.
And with him they sent ten chiefs, one for every tribe of the children of Israel, every one of them the head of his house among the families of Israel. And they came to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and said to them, This is what all the meeting of the people of the Lord has said, What is this wrong which you have done against the God of Israel, turning back this day from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, and being false to the Lord? Was not the sin of Baal-peor great enough, from which we are not clear even to this day, though punishment came on the people of the Lord, That now you are turned back from the Lord? and, because you are false to him today, tomorrow his wrath will be let loose on all the people of Israel. But if the land you now have is unclean, come over into the Lord's land where his House is, and take up your heritage among us: but do not be false to the Lord and to us by building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the Lord our God. Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, do wrong about the cursed thing, causing wrath to come on all the people of Israel? And not on him only came the punishment of death. Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, God, even God the Lord, God, even God the Lord, he sees, and Israel will see--if it is in pride or in sin against the Lord, That we have made ourselves an altar, being false to the Lord, keep us not safe from death this day; and if for the purpose of offering burned offerings on it and meal offerings, or peace-offerings, let the Lord himself send punishment for it; And if we have not, in fact, done this designedly and with purpose, having in our minds the fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made Jordan a line of division between us and you, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad; you have no part in the Lord: so your children will make our children give up fearing the Lord. So we said, Let us now make an altar for ourselves, not for burned offerings or for the offerings of beasts: But to be a witness between us and you, and between the future generations, that we have the right of worshipping the Lord with our burned offerings and our offerings of beasts and our peace-offerings; so that your children will not be able to say to our children in time to come, You have no part in the Lord. For we said to ourselves, If they say this to us or to future generations, then we will say, See this copy of the Lord's altar which our fathers made, not for burned offerings or offerings of beasts, but for a witness between us and you. Never let it be said that we were false to the Lord, turning back this day from him and building an altar for burned offerings and meal offerings and offerings of beasts, in addition to the altar of the Lord our God which is before his House. Then Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the meeting and the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, hearing what the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh said, were pleased. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, Now we are certain that the Lord is among us, because you have not done this wrong against the Lord: and you have kept us from falling into the hands of the Lord.


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, read more.
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.


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, read more.
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.

At that time I gave you orders, saying, The Lord has given you this land for your heritage: all the men of war are to go over armed before your brothers the children of Israel. But your wives and your little ones and your cattle (for it is clear that you have much cattle) may go on living in the towns I have given you; Till the Lord has given rest to your brothers as to you, and till they have taken for themselves the land which the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of Jordan: then you may go back, every man of you, to the heritage which I have given you.


At that time I gave you orders, saying, The Lord has given you this land for your heritage: all the men of war are to go over armed before your brothers the children of Israel. But your wives and your little ones and your cattle (for it is clear that you have much cattle) may go on living in the towns I have given you; Till the Lord has given rest to your brothers as to you, and till they have taken for themselves the land which the Lord your God is giving them on the other side of Jordan: then you may go back, every man of you, to the heritage which I have given you.

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. read more.
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.


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, read more.
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 news came to the children of Israel, See, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have put up an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the country by Jordan on the side which is Israel's. Then all the meeting of the children of Israel, hearing this, came together at Shiloh to go up against them to war. And the children of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, read more.
And with him they sent ten chiefs, one for every tribe of the children of Israel, every one of them the head of his house among the families of Israel. And they came to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and said to them, This is what all the meeting of the people of the Lord has said, What is this wrong which you have done against the God of Israel, turning back this day from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, and being false to the Lord? Was not the sin of Baal-peor great enough, from which we are not clear even to this day, though punishment came on the people of the Lord, That now you are turned back from the Lord? and, because you are false to him today, tomorrow his wrath will be let loose on all the people of Israel. But if the land you now have is unclean, come over into the Lord's land where his House is, and take up your heritage among us: but do not be false to the Lord and to us by building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the Lord our God. Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, do wrong about the cursed thing, causing wrath to come on all the people of Israel? And not on him only came the punishment of death. Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, God, even God the Lord, God, even God the Lord, he sees, and Israel will see--if it is in pride or in sin against the Lord, That we have made ourselves an altar, being false to the Lord, keep us not safe from death this day; and if for the purpose of offering burned offerings on it and meal offerings, or peace-offerings, let the Lord himself send punishment for it; And if we have not, in fact, done this designedly and with purpose, having in our minds the fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made Jordan a line of division between us and you, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad; you have no part in the Lord: so your children will make our children give up fearing the Lord. So we said, Let us now make an altar for ourselves, not for burned offerings or for the offerings of beasts: But to be a witness between us and you, and between the future generations, that we have the right of worshipping the Lord with our burned offerings and our offerings of beasts and our peace-offerings; so that your children will not be able to say to our children in time to come, You have no part in the Lord. For we said to ourselves, If they say this to us or to future generations, then we will say, See this copy of the Lord's altar which our fathers made, not for burned offerings or offerings of beasts, but for a witness between us and you. Never let it be said that we were false to the Lord, turning back this day from him and building an altar for burned offerings and meal offerings and offerings of beasts, in addition to the altar of the Lord our God which is before his House. Then Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the meeting and the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, hearing what the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh said, were pleased. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, Now we are certain that the Lord is among us, because you have not done this wrong against the Lord: and you have kept us from falling into the hands of the Lord.