Deuteronomy 3:12-22

Contemporary English Version

The Land East of the Jordan River Is Divided

(Numbers 32.1-42)

Moses said to Israel:

^12-17 I gave some of the land and towns we captured to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Their share started at the Arnon River gorge in the south, took in the town of Aroer on the edge of the gorge, and went far enough north to include the southern half of the Gilead region. The northern part of their land went as far east as the upper Jabbok River gorge, which formed their border with the Ammonites.^[a] I also gave them the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from Lake Galilee^[b] south to the Dead Sea^[c] below the slopes of Mount Pisgah.

I gave the northern half of Gilead and all of the Bashan region to half the tribe of Manasseh.^[d] Bashan had belonged to King Og, and the Argob region in Bashan used to be called the Land of the Rephaim. Jair from the Manasseh tribe conquered the Argob region as far west as the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. The Israelites even started calling Bashan by the name “Villages of Jair,”^[e] and that is still its name. I gave the northern half of Gilead to the Machir clan.^[f]

^18-19 (A) At that time I told the men of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh:

The Lord our God told me to give you this land with its towns, and that's what I have done. Now your wives and children can stay here with your large flocks of sheep and goats and your large herds of cattle. But all of you men that can serve in our army must cross the Jordan River and help the other tribes, because they are your relatives. ²⁰ The Lord will let them defeat the enemy nations on the west side of the Jordan and take their land. Afterwards, you can come back here to the land I gave you.

^21-22 Then I told Joshua, “You saw how the Lord our God helped us destroy King Sihon and King Og. So don't be afraid! Wherever you go, the Lord will fight on your side and help you destroy your enemies.”