The Tribes East of the Jordan

¹The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a lot of livestock. When they saw how suitable the land of Jazer and Gilead was for cattle,

²they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of the community and said,

^3-4“This region which the Lord has helped the Israelites occupy—the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon—is good land for livestock, and we have so much livestock.

⁵Please give us this land as our property, and do not make us cross the Jordan River and settle there.”

⁶Moses replied, “Do you want to stay here while the other Israelites go to war?

⁷How dare you try to discourage the people of Israel from crossing the Jordan into the land which the Lord has given them?

⁸That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land.

⁹They went as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, but when they returned, they discouraged the people from entering the land which the Lord had given them.

¹⁰The Lord became angry that day and made a promise:

¹¹‘I swear that because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or older who came out of Egypt will enter the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’

¹²This included everyone, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun; they remained loyal to the Lord.

¹³The Lord became angry with the people and made them wander in the wilderness forty years until that whole generation that had displeased him was dead.

¹⁴And now you have taken your ancestors' place, a new generation of sinful people ready to bring down the fierce anger of the Lord on Israel again.

¹⁵If you people of Reuben and Gad refuse to follow him now, he will once again abandon all these people in the wilderness, and you will be responsible for their destruction.”

¹⁶They approached Moses and said, “First, allow us to build stone enclosures here for our sheep and fortified towns for our dependents.

¹⁷Then we will be ready to go with the other Israelites into battle and lead the attack until we have settled them in the land that will be theirs. In the meantime, our dependents can live here in the fortified towns, safe from the people of this land.

¹⁸We will not return to our homes until all the other Israelites have taken possession of the land assigned to them.

¹⁹We will not take possession of any property among them on the other side of the Jordan, because we have received our share here east of the Jordan.”

²⁰Moses answered, “If you really mean what you say, then here in the presence of the Lord get ready to go into battle.

²¹All your fighting men are to cross the Jordan and under the command of the Lord they are to attack our enemies until the Lord defeats them

²²and takes possession of the land. After that, you may return, because you will have fulfilled your obligation to the Lord and to the other Israelites. Then the Lord will acknowledge that this land east of the Jordan is yours.

²³But if you do not keep your promise, I warn you that you will be sinning against the Lord. Make no mistake about it; you will be punished for your sin.

²⁴So build your towns and the enclosures for your sheep, but do what you have promised!”

²⁵The men of Gad and Reuben said, “Sir, we will do as you command.

²⁶Our wives and children and our cattle and sheep will remain here in the towns of Gilead.

²⁷But all of us are ready to go into battle under the Lord's command. We will cross the Jordan and fight, just as you have said.”

²⁸So Moses gave these commands to Eleazar, Joshua, and the other leaders of Israel:

²⁹“If the men of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan ready for battle at the Lord's command and if with their help you are able to conquer the land, then give them the land of Gilead as their property.

³⁰But if they do not cross the Jordan and go into battle with you, they are to receive their share of the property in the land of Canaan, as you do.”

³¹The men of Gad and Reuben answered, “Sir, we will do as the Lord has commanded.

³²Under his command we will cross into the land of Canaan and go into battle, so that we can retain our property here east of the Jordan.”

³³So Moses assigned to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and to half the tribe of Manasseh all the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan, including the towns and the country around them.

³⁴The tribe of Gad rebuilt the fortified towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

³⁵Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

³⁶Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran.

³⁷The tribe of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

³⁸Nebo, Baal Meon (this name was changed), and Sibmah. They gave new names to the towns they rebuilt.

³⁹The clan of Machir son of Manasseh invaded the land of Gilead, occupied it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir, and they lived there.

⁴¹Jair, of the tribe of Manasseh, attacked and captured some villages and named them “Villages of Jair.”

⁴²Nobah attacked and captured Kenath and its villages, and he renamed it Nobah, after himself.

Joshua Becomes Moses' Successor

¹Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel,

²and said, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to be your leader. And besides this, the Lord has told me that I will not cross the Jordan.

³The Lord your God himself will go before you and destroy the nations living there, so that you can occupy their land; and Joshua will be your leader, as the Lord has said.

⁴The Lord will destroy those people, just as he defeated Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and destroyed their country.

⁵The Lord will give you victory over them, and you are to treat them exactly as I have told you.

⁶Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, the Lord himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”

⁷Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all the people of Israel, “Be determined and confident; you are the one who will lead these people to occupy the land that the Lord promised to their ancestors.

⁸The Lord himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.”

The Law Is to Be Read Every Seven Years

⁹So Moses wrote down God's Law and gave it to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the Lord's Covenant Box, and to the leaders of Israel.

¹⁰He commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, when the year that debts are canceled comes around, read this aloud at the Festival of Shelters.

¹¹Read it to the people of Israel when they come to worship the Lord your God at the one place of worship.

¹²Call together all the men, women, and children, and the foreigners who live in your towns, so that everyone may hear it and learn to honor the Lord your God and to obey his teachings faithfully.

¹³In this way your descendants who have never heard the Law of the Lord your God will hear it. And so they will learn to obey him as long as they live in the land that you are about to occupy across the Jordan.”

The Lord's Last Instructions to Moses

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “You do not have much longer to live. Call Joshua and bring him to the Tent, so that I may give him his instructions.” Moses and Joshua went to the Tent,

¹⁵and the Lord appeared to them there in a pillar of cloud that stood by the door of the Tent.

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter.

¹⁷When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them.

¹⁸And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshiped other gods.

¹⁹“Now, write down this song. Teach it to the people of Israel, so that it will stand as evidence against them.

²⁰I will take them into this rich and fertile land, as I promised their ancestors. There they will have all the food they want, and they will live comfortably. But they will turn away and worship other gods. They will reject me and break my covenant,

²¹and many terrible disasters will come on them. But this song will still be sung, and it will stand as evidence against them. Even now, before I take them into the land that I promised to give them, I know what they are thinking.”

²²That same day Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the people of Israel.

²³Then the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun and told him, “Be confident and determined. You will lead the people of Israel into the land that I promised them, and I will be with you.”

²⁴Moses wrote God's Law in a book, taking care not to leave out anything.

²⁵When he finished, he said to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the Lord's Covenant Box,

²⁶“Take this book of God's Law and place it beside the Covenant Box of the Lord your God, so that it will remain there as a witness against his people.

²⁷I know how stubborn and rebellious they are. They have rebelled against the Lord during my lifetime, and they will rebel even more after I am dead.

²⁸Assemble all your tribal leaders and officials before me, so that I can tell them these things; I will call heaven and earth to be my witnesses against them.

²⁹I know that after my death the people will become wicked and reject what I have taught them. And in time to come they will meet with disaster, because they will have made the Lord angry by doing what he has forbidden.”

The Song of Moses

³⁰Then Moses recited the entire song while all the people of Israel listened.

In Praise of the Lord

¹Praise the Lord, all nations! Praise him, all peoples!

²His love for us is strong, and his faithfulness is eternal. Praise the Lord!