²⁰ Moses said:

You promised that you would be ready to fight for the Lord. ²¹ You also agreed to cross the Jordan and stay with the rest of the Israelites, until the Lord forces our enemies out of the land. If you do these things, ²² then after the Lord helps Israel capture the land, you can return to your own land. You will no longer have to stay with the others. ²³ But if you don't keep your promise, you will sin against the Lord and be punished.

²⁴ Go ahead and build towns for your wives and children, and places for your sheep and goats. Just be sure to do what you have promised.

²⁵ The men from Reuben and Gad answered:

Sir, we will do just what you have said. ²⁶ Our wives and children and sheep and cattle will stay here in the towns in Gilead. ²⁷ But those of us who are prepared for battle will cross the Jordan and fight for the Lord.

^28 (A) Then Moses said to Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders, ²⁹ “Make sure that the tribes of Gad and Reuben prepare for battle and cross the Jordan River with you. If they do, then after the land is in your control, give them the region of Gilead as their tribal land. ³⁰ But if they break their promise, they will receive land on the other side of the Jordan, like the rest of the tribes.”

³¹ The tribes of Gad and Reuben replied, “We are your servants and will do whatever the Lord has commanded. ³² We will cross the Jordan River, ready to fight for the Lord in Canaan. But the land we will inherit as our own will be on this side of the river.”

^12 (A) Joshua told the men of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh:^[a]

^13-14 The Lord's servant Moses said that the Lord our God has given you land here on the east side of the Jordan River, where you could live in peace. Your wives and children and your animals can stay here in the land Moses gave you. But all of you that can serve in our army must pick up your weapons and lead the men of the other tribes across the Jordan River. They are your relatives, so you must help them ¹⁵ conquer the land that the Lord is giving them. The Lord will give peace to them as he has given peace to you, and then you can come back and settle here in the land that Moses promised you.