The Wilderness Years

And Moses gaue the tribute of the Lordes offring vnto Eleazar the Priest, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

And of the halfe of the children of Israel, which Moses deuided from the men of warre,

(For the halfe that perteined vnto the Congregation, was three hundreth thirtie and seuen thousand sheepe and fiue hundreth,

And sixe and thirtie thousand beeues,

And thirtie thousand asses, and fiue hudreth,

And sixteene thousande persons)

Moses, I say, tooke of the halfe that perteined vnto the children of Israel, one taken out of fiftie, both of the persons, and of the cattell, and gaue them vnto the Leuites, which haue the charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Then the captaines which were ouer thousandes of the hoste, the captaines ouer the thousandes, and the captaines ouer the hundreds came vnto Moses:

And saide to Moses, Thy seruants haue taken the summe of the men of warre which are vnder our authoritie, and there lacketh not one man of vs.

We haue therefore brought a present vnto the Lord, what euery man found of iewels of golde, bracelets, and cheines, rings, eare ringes, and ornaments of the legges, to make an atonement for our soules before the Lord.

And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the golde of them, and all wrought iewels,

And all the golde of the offring that they offered vp to the Lord (of the captaines ouer thousands and hundreds) was sixteene thousande seuen hundreth and fiftie shekels,

(For the men of warre had spoyled, euery man for him selfe)

And Moses and Eleazar the Priest tooke the golde of the captaines ouer the thousandes, and ouer the hundreds, and brought it into the Tabernacle of the Congregation, for a memoriall of the children of Israel before the Lord.

Nowe the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad had an exceeding great multitude of cattell: and they sawe the lande of Iazer, and the lande of Gilead, that it was an apt place for cattel.

Then the children of Gad, and the childre of Reuben came, and spake vnto Moses and to Eleazar the Priest, and vnto the princes of the Congregation, saying,

The land of Ataroth, and Dibon, and Iazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

Which countrey the Lord smote before the Congregation of Israel, is a lande meete for cattell, and thy seruants haue cattell:

Wherefore, said they, if we haue foud grace in thy sight, let this lande be giuen vnto thy seruants for a possession, and bring vs not ouer Iorde.

And Moses said vnto the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren goe to warre, and ye tary heere?

Wherefore now discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel, to goe ouer into the lande, which the Lord hath giuen them?

Thus did your fathers when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the lande.

For when they went vp euen vnto the riuer of Eshcol, and sawe the land: they discouraged the heart of the childre of Israel, that they woulde not goe into the lande, which the Lord had giuen them.

And the Lordes wrath was kindled the same day, and he did sweare, saying,

None of the men that came out of Egypt from twentie yeere olde and aboue, shall see the land for the which I sware vnto Abraham, to Izhak, and to Iaakob, because they haue not wholly followed me: