¹⁸ “And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. ^(A)All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel.

²⁰ So ^(A)Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, ²¹ and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has ^(B)driven out his enemies from before him ²² and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and ^(C)this land shall be your possession before the Lord. ²³ But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and ^(D)be sure your sin will find you out. ^24 (E)Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”

¹² The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh ^(A)passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. ¹³ About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.

¹² And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the word that ^(A)Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, ^15 (B)until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. ^(C)Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

The Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them, “You have kept ^(A)all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you ^(B)and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. ³ You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. ^4 (C)And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, ^(D)which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ^5 (E)Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, ^(F)to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua ^(G)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, ^(H)but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, ⁸ he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. ^(I)Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” ⁹ So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go ^(J)to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses.