Matot-Massie Numbers Chapter 32 3rd Portion 1 The descendants of Reuben and Gad had an abundance of livestock very numerous and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2 The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben came, and they spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the kohen and to the princes of the community, saying, 3 "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4the land that the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock." 5 They said, "If it pleases you, let this land be given to your servants as a heritage; do not take us across the Jordan." 6 [Thereupon,] Moses said to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, "Shall your brethren go to war while you stay here? 7 Why do you discourage the children of Israel from crossing over to the land which the Lord has given them? 8 This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh barnea to explore the Land. 9 They went up to the Valley of Eshkol and saw the land, and they discouraged the children of Israel from crossing into the land which the Lord has given them. 10 The anger of the Lord flared on that day, and He swore, saying, 11 'None of the men from the age of twenty years and over who came out of Egypt will see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, for they did not follow Me wholeheartedly, 12 except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.' 13 The anger of the Lord flared against Israel, and He made them wander in the desert for forty years until the entire generation who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord had died out. 14 And behold, you have now risen in place of your fathers as a society of sinful people, to add to the wrathful anger of the Lord against Israel. 15 If you turn away from following Him, He will leave you in the desert again, and you will destroy this entire people." 16 They approached him and said, "We will build sheepfolds for our livestock here and cities for our children. 17 We will then arm ourselves quickly [and go] before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place. Our children will reside in the fortified cities on account of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We shall not return to our homes until each of the children of Israel has taken possession of his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on the east bank of the Jordan."