Add parallel Print Page Options

31 (LY: ii) Adonai said to Moshe, “On behalf of the people of Isra’el, take vengeance on the Midyanim. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

Moshe said to the people, “Equip men from among yourselves for war. They are to go and fight Midyan, in order to carry out Adonai’s vengeance on Midyan. You are to send to the war a thousand men from every one of Isra’el’s tribes.” So out of the thousands of people in Isra’el, a thousand armed men from each tribe, 12,000 altogether, were mustered for war. Moshe sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war; he sent them and Pinchas the son of El‘azar the cohen to the war, with the holy utensils and the trumpets for sounding the alarm in his care.

They fought against Midyan, as Adonai had ordered Moshe, and killed every male. They killed the kings of Midyan along with the others who were slain — Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva, the five kings of Midyan. They also killed Bil‘am the son of B‘or with the sword. The people of Isra’el took captive the women of Midyan and their little ones, and they took as booty all their cattle, flocks and other goods. 10 They set fire to all their cities in the areas where they lived and all their camps. 11 They took all the booty, all the people and animals they had captured, 12 and brought the captives, booty and spoil to Moshe, El‘azar the cohen and the community of Isra’el in the camp on the plains of Mo’av by the Yarden across from Yericho.

(RY: ii, LY: iii) 13 Moshe, El‘azar the cohen and all the community leaders went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moshe was angry with the army officers, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds coming in from the battlefield. 15 Moshe asked them, “You let the women live? 16 Why, these are the ones who — because of Bil‘am’s advice — caused the people of Isra’el to rebel, breaking faith with Adonai in the P‘or incident, so that the plague broke out among Adonai’s community! 17 Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has ever slept with a man. 18 But the young girls who have never slept with a man, keep alive for yourselves. 19 Pitch your tents outside the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a person or touched the corpse of someone slain, purify yourselves on the third and seventh days, you and your captives. 20 Also purify every garment, whether of skin or goat’s hair, and everything made of wood.”

21 El‘azar the cohen said to the soldiers who had gone to the front, “This is the regulation from the Torah which Adonai has ordered Moshe. 22 Even though gold, silver, brass, iron, tin and lead 23 can all withstand fire, so that you are indeed to purify everything made of these materials by having them pass through fire; nevertheless they must also be purified with the water for purification. Everything that can’t withstand fire you are to have go through the water. 24 On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean; after that you may enter the camp.”

(LY: iv) 25 Adonai said to Moshe, 26 “Take all the booty, both people and animals, you, El‘azar the cohen and the leaders of clans in the community; 27 and divide the booty into two parts: half for the experienced soldiers who went out to battle, and half for the rest of the community. 28 From the portion of the soldiers who went out to battle, levy a tax for Adonai consisting of one-five-hundredth of the persons, cattle, donkeys and sheep; 29 take it from their half and give it to El‘azar the cohen as a portion set apart for Adonai. 30 From the half that goes to the people of Isra’el, you are to take one-fiftieth of the persons, and of the cattle, donkeys and sheep, that is, of all the livestock; and give them to the L’vi’im taking care of the tabernacle of Adonai.” 31 Moshe and El‘azar the cohen did as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

32 The booty, over and above the portion which the soldiers took, came to 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, consisting of the women who had never slept with a man.

36 The half which was the portion of the soldiers who went out to fight, numbered 337,500 sheep, 37 of which Adonai’s tribute was 675; 38 36,000 cattle, of which Adonai’s tribute was seventy-two; 39 30,500 donkeys, of which Adonai’s tribute was sixty-one; 40 and 16,000 persons, of whom Adonai’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 Moshe gave the tribute set apart for Adonai to El‘azar the cohen, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(LY: v) 42 From the half that went to people of Isra’el, which Moshe separated from that of the men who had gone to fight — 43 now the community’s half consisted of 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 persons — 47 from the people of Isra’el’s half, Moshe took one-fiftieth of the persons and animals and gave them to the L’vi’im taking care of the tabernacle of Adonai, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

48 The officers in charge of the thousands who fought, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe 49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing. 50 We have brought an offering for Adonai, what every man has obtained in the way of gold jewelry — armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and belts — to make atonement for ourselves before Adonai.”

51 Moshe and El‘azar the cohen accepted their gold, all the jewelry. 52 All the gold in this gift which the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds set apart for Adonai weighed 420 pounds. 53 For the soldiers had taken booty, every man for himself. 54 Moshe and El‘azar the cohen took the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a reminder for the people of Isra’el before Adonai.

32 (RY: iii; LY: vi) The descendants of Re’uven and the descendants of Gad had vast quantities of livestock. When they saw that the land of Ya‘zer and the land of Gil‘ad were good for livestock, the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven came and spoke to Moshe, El‘azar the cohen and the community leaders. They said, “‘Atarot, Divon, Ya‘zer, Nimrah, Heshbon, El‘aleh, S’vam, N’vo and Be‘on, the country that Adonai conquered before the community of Isra’el, is livestock country; and your servants have livestock. If you regard us favorably,” they went on, “let this land be given to your servants as their possession; and don’t have us cross the Yarden.”

Moshe answered the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven: “Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? Besides, why are you trying to discourage the people of Isra’el from crossing into the land Adonai gave them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the Eshkol Valley and saw the land, they disheartened the people of Isra’el, so that they wouldn’t enter the land Adonai had given them. 10 Adonai’s anger blazed up on that day; and he swore, 11 ‘None of the people aged twenty or more who came out of Egypt will see the land I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov; because they haven’t followed me unreservedly — 12 except Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi and Y’hoshua the son of Nun, because they have followed Adonai unreservedly.’ 13 Thus Adonai’s anger blazed against Isra’el, so that he made them wander here and there in the desert forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of Adonai had died out. 14 Now you, another brood of sinners, have arisen in your fathers’ place to increase still more the fierce anger of Adonai toward Isra’el! 15 For if you turn away from him, he will leave them in the desert again, and thus you will cause the destruction of all these people!”

16 But they came up to him and said, “Here we will build enclosures for our livestock and cities for our little ones, 17 but we ourselves will be armed and ready for action to march at the head of the people of Isra’el, until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will stay in the fortified cities here because of the people now living in the land. 18 However, we will not return to our own homes until every man in Isra’el has taken possession of his land for inheritance. 19 We will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Yarden, westward; because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Yarden, eastward.”

(RY: iv, LY: vii) 20 Moshe said to them, “If you will do this — if you will arm yourselves to go before Adonai to the war, 21 and if every one of your soldiers will cross the Yarden before Adonai, until he has driven out his enemies ahead of him, 22 and if the land has been conquered before Adonai, and only after that do you return — then you will be clear before Adonai and before Isra’el, and this land here will be yours to possess before Adonai. 23 But if you will not do this, then you have sinned against Adonai, and you must understand that your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and enclosures for your sheep; then do what you said you would do.”

25 The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Re’uven said to Moshe, “Your servants will do as my lord orders. 26 Our little ones, wives, flocks and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gil‘ad; 27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before Adonai to do battle, as my lord says.”

28 So Moshe gave orders concerning them to El‘azar the cohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the clan leaders of the tribes of the people of Isra’el. 29 Moshe said to them, “If the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven cross over the Yarden with you, every man armed for battle, before Adonai; and if the land is conquered before you, then you are to give them the land of Gil‘ad as theirs to possess. 30 But if they do not cross with you armed, they are to possess land along with you in Kena‘an.”

31 The descendants of Gad and of Re’uven answered, “We will do as Adonai has said to your servants. 32 We will cross over into the land of Kena‘an armed before Adonai, and the land we will possess for inheritance will be on this side of the Yarden.”

33 So Moshe gave the descendants of Gad and of Re’uven, and also to the half-tribe of M’nasheh the son of Yosef, the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori and the kingdom of ‘Og king of Bashan — the country and its cities within its borders, along with their surrounding towns.

34 The descendants of Gad built Divon, ‘Atarot, ‘Aro‘er, 35 ‘Atrot-Shofan, Ya‘zer, Yogbehah, 36 Beit-Nimrah and Beit-Haran — fortified cities; and also enclosures for sheep.

37 The descendants of Re’uven built Heshbon, El‘aleh, Kiryatayim, 38 N’vo, Ba‘al-M‘on (these names have been changed) and Sivmah; they renamed the cities they built.

(LY: Maftir) 39 The descendants of Machir the son of M’nasheh went to Gil‘ad and conquered it, dispossessing the Emori who were there. 40 Moshe gave Gil‘ad to Machir the son of M’nasheh, and he lived in it. 41 Ya’ir the son of M’nasheh went and captured its villages and called them Havot-Ya’ir [villages of Ya’ir]. 42 Novach went and captured K’nat with its villages and named it Novach after himself.

Haftarah Mattot: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 1:1–2:3

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mattot: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33–37

Vengeance on the Midianites

31 The Lord said to Moses, “Take vengeance on the Midianites(A) for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.(B)

So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance(C) on them. Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” So twelve thousand men armed for battle,(D) a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. Moses sent them into battle,(E) a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas(F) son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary(G) and the trumpets(H) for signaling.

They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses,(I) and killed every man.(J) Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba(K)—the five kings of Midian.(L) They also killed Balaam son of Beor(M) with the sword.(N) The Israelites captured the Midianite women(O) and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder.(P) 10 They burned(Q) all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.(R) 11 They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,(S) 12 and brought the captives, spoils(T) and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly(U) at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.(V)

13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army(W)—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice(X) and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident,(Y) so that a plague(Z) struck the Lord’s people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,(AA) 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

19 “Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed(AB) must stay outside the camp seven days.(AC) On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves(AD) and your captives. 20 Purify every garment(AE) as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.(AF)

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle,(AG) “This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses: 22 Gold, silver, bronze, iron,(AH) tin, lead 23 and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire,(AI) and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing.(AJ) And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean.(AK) Then you may come into the camp.(AL)

Dividing the Spoils

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads(AM) of the community are to count all the people(AN) and animals that were captured.(AO) 27 Divide(AP) the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. 28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord(AQ) one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part. 30 From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.(AR) 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 The plunder remaining from the spoils(AS) that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.

36 The half share of those who fought in the battle was:

337,500 sheep, 37 of which the tribute for the Lord(AT) was 675;

38 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;

39 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;

40 16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the Lord was 32.

41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part,(AU) as the Lord commanded Moses.(AV)

42 The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men— 43 the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.

48 Then the officers(AW) who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses 49 and said to him, “Your servants have counted(AX) the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.(AY) 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves(AZ) before the Lord.”

51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles. 52 All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.[a] 53 Each soldier had taken plunder(BA) for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting(BB) as a memorial(BC) for the Israelites before the Lord.

The Transjordan Tribes

32 The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks,(BD) saw that the lands of Jazer(BE) and Gilead(BF) were suitable for livestock.(BG) So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community,(BH) and said, “Ataroth,(BI) Dibon,(BJ) Jazer,(BK) Nimrah,(BL) Heshbon,(BM) Elealeh,(BN) Sebam,(BO) Nebo(BP) and Beon(BQ) the land the Lord subdued(BR) before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock,(BS) and your servants have livestock. If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.(BT)

Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them?(BU) This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land.(BV) After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol(BW) and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. 10 The Lord’s anger was aroused(BX) that day and he swore this oath:(BY) 11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more(BZ) when they came up out of Egypt(CA) will see the land I promised on oath(CB) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob(CC) 12 not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’(CD) 13 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel(CE) and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.(CF)

14 “And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel.(CG) 15 If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction.(CH)

16 Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens(CI) here for our livestock(CJ) and cities for our women and children. 17 But we will arm ourselves for battle[b] and go ahead of the Israelites(CK) until we have brought them to their place.(CL) Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their inheritance.(CM) 19 We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance(CN) has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”(CO)

20 Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle(CP) 21 and if all of you who are armed cross over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him(CQ) 22 then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return(CR) and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession(CS) before the Lord.(CT)

23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.(CU) 24 Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks,(CV) but do what you have promised.(CW)

25 The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We your servants will do as our lord commands.(CX) 26 Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead.(CY) 27 But your servants, every man who is armed for battle, will cross over to fight(CZ) before the Lord, just as our lord says.”

28 Then Moses gave orders about them(DA) to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun(DB) and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes.(DC) 29 He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord, then when the land is subdued before you,(DD) you must give them the land of Gilead as their possession.(DE) 30 But if they do not cross over(DF) with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan.(DG)

31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said.(DH) 32 We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed,(DI) but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.(DJ)

33 Then Moses gave to the Gadites,(DK) the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh(DL) son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites(DM) and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan(DN)—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.(DO)

34 The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,(DP) 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer,(DQ) Jogbehah,(DR) 36 Beth Nimrah(DS) and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks.(DT) 37 And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon,(DU) Elealeh(DV) and Kiriathaim,(DW) 38 as well as Nebo(DX) and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah.(DY) They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.

39 The descendants of Makir(DZ) son of Manasseh went to Gilead,(EA) captured it and drove out the Amorites(EB) who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites,(EC) the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. 41 Jair,(ED) a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.[c](EE) 42 And Nobah captured Kenath(EF) and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah(EG) after himself.(EH)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 31:52 That is, about 420 pounds or about 190 kilograms
  2. Numbers 32:17 Septuagint; Hebrew will be quick to arm ourselves
  3. Numbers 32:41 Or them the settlements of Jair

31 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian.

Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.

So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.

10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.

14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.

21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses;

22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.

24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:

27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:

28 And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:

29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the Lord.

30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.

31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,

33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,

34 And threescore and one thousand asses,

35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.

36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:

37 And the Lord'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.

38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord'S tribute was threescore and twelve.

39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the Lord'S tribute was threescore and one.

40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord'S tribute was thirty and two persons.

41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord'S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

42 And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,

43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,

44 And thirty and six thousand beeves,

45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,

46 And sixteen thousand persons;)

47 Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:

49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.

50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord.

51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.

52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the Lord, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

32 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,

Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,

Even the country which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:

Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.

And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?

And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them?

Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.

For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them.

10 And the Lord'S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,

11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:

12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the Lord.

13 And the Lord'S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed.

14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.

15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:

17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.

19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war,

21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

22 And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.

23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.

26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:

27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord saith.

28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:

29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:

30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.

31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the Lord hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.

32 We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be our's.

33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.

34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,

36 And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.

37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,

38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.

39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.

40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.

42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.