The Wilderness Years

save Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they have been fully after Jehovah;

and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He causeth them to wander in the wilderness forty years, until the consumption of all the generation which is doing the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah.

`And lo, ye have risen in the stead of your fathers, an increase of men--sinners, to add yet to the fury of the anger of Jehovah toward Israel;

when ye turn back from after Him, then He hath added yet to leave him in the wilderness, and ye have done corruptly to all this people.'

And they come nigh unto him, and say, `Folds for the flock we build for our cattle here, and cities for our infants;

and we--we are armed hasting before the sons of Israel till that we have brought them in unto their place; and our infants have dwelt in the cities of defence because of the inhabitants of the land;

we do not turn back unto our houses till the sons of Israel have inherited each his inheritance,

for we do not inherit with them beyond the Jordan and yonder, for our inheritance hath come unto us beyond the Jordan at the sun -rising.'

And Moses saith unto them, `If ye do this thing: if ye are armed before Jehovah for battle,

and every armed one of you hath passed over the Jordan before Jehovah, till his dispossessing His enemies from before Him,

and the land hath been subdued before Jehovah--then afterwards ye do turn back, and have been acquitted by Jehovah, and by Israel; and this land hath been to you for a possession before Jehovah.

`And if ye do not so, lo, ye have sinned against Jehovah, and know ye your sin, that it doth find you;

build for yourselves cities for your infants, and folds for your flock, and that which is going out from your mouth do ye.'

And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben speak unto Moses, saying, `Thy servants do as my lord is commanding;

our infants, our wives, our cattle, and all our beasts, are there in cities of Gilead,

and thy servants pass over, every armed one of the host, before Jehovah, to battle, as my lord is saying.'

And Moses commandeth concerning them Eleazar the priest, and Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel;

and Moses saith unto them, `If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben pass over with you the Jordan, every one armed for battle, before Jehovah, and the land hath been subdued before you, then ye have given to them the land of Gilead for a possession;

and if they do not pass over armed with you, then they have possessions in your midst in the land of Canaan.'

And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answer, saying, `That which Jehovah hath spoken unto thy servants--so we do;

we--we pass over armed before Jehovah to the land of Canaan, and with us is the possession of our inheritance beyond the Jordan.'

And Moses giveth to them, to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Reuben, and to the half of the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorite, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land by its cities, in the borders, the cities of the land round about.

And the sons of Gad build Dihon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

and Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran, cities of defence, and sheepfolds.