1. The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a lot of livestock. When they saw how suitable the land of Jazer and Gilead was for cattle,
2. they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the other leaders of the community and said,
3-4. “This region which the Lord has helped the Israelites to 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.
5. Please give us this land as our property, and do not make us cross the River Jordan and settle there.”
6. Moses replied, “Do you want to stay here while your fellow-Israelites go to war?
7. How dare you try to discourage the people of Israel from crossing the Jordan into the land which the Lord has given them?
8. That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land.
9. They went as far as the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, but when they returned, they discouraged the people from entering the land which the Lord had given them.
10. The Lord was 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.’
12. This included everyone, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun; they remained loyal to the Lord.
13. The Lord was angry with the people and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until that whole generation that had displeased him was dead.
14. And now you have taken your fathers' place, a new generation of sinful men ready to bring down the fierce anger of the Lord on Israel again.
15. If 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.”
16. They approached Moses and said, “First, allow us to build stone enclosures here for our sheep and fortified towns for our dependants.