¹Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, ²the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, ³“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, ⁴the country which the Lᴏʀᴅ defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” ⁵Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” ⁶And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? ⁷Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lᴏʀᴅ has given them? ⁸Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. ⁹For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lᴏʀᴅ had given them. ¹⁰So the Lᴏʀᴅ’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, ¹¹‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, ¹²except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lᴏʀᴅ.’ ¹³So the Lᴏʀᴅ’s anger was aroused 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 Lᴏʀᴅ was gone. ¹⁴And look! You have risen in your father’s place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lᴏʀᴅ against Israel. ¹⁵For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.” ¹⁶Then they came near to him and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, ¹⁷but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance. ¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.” ²⁰Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lᴏʀᴅ for the war, ²¹and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lᴏʀᴅ until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, ²²and the land is subdued before the Lᴏʀᴅ, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the Lᴏʀᴅ and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²³But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lᴏʀᴅ; and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth.” ²⁵And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; ²⁷but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the Lᴏʀᴅ to battle, just as my lord says.” ²⁸So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. ²⁹And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lᴏʀᴅ, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. ³⁰But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” ³¹Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the Lᴏʀᴅ has said to your servants, so we will do. ³²We will cross over armed before the Lᴏʀᴅ into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.” ³³So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to 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 its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. ³⁴And the children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, ³⁵Atroth and Shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. ³⁷And the children of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim, ³⁸Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built. ³⁹And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. ⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. ⁴¹Also Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair. ⁴²Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.

¹To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cried out to God with my voice— To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me. ²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lᴏʀᴅ; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. ³I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah ⁴You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. ⁵I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. ⁶I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search. ⁷Will the Lᴏʀᴅ cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? ⁸Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? ⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah ¹⁰And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” ¹¹I will remember the works of the Lᴏʀᴅ; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. ¹²I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. ¹³Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? ¹⁴You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. ¹⁵You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah ¹⁶The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. ¹⁷The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. ¹⁸The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. ¹⁹Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. ²⁰You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹Behold, the Lᴏʀᴅ makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. ²And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. ³The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the Lᴏʀᴅ has spoken this word. ⁴The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. ⁵The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. ⁶Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. ⁷The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. ⁸The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. ⁹They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. ¹⁰The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. ¹¹There is a cry for wine in the streets, All joy is darkened, The mirth of the land is gone. ¹²In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. ¹³When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. ¹⁴They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the Lᴏʀᴅ They shall cry aloud from the sea. ¹⁵Therefore glorify the Lᴏʀᴅ in the dawning light, The name of the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. ¹⁶From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.” ¹⁷Fear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. ¹⁸And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken. ¹⁹The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. ²⁰The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again. ²¹It shall come to pass in that day That the Lᴏʀᴅ will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth the kings of the earth. ²²They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. ²³Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.

¹My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. ³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. ⁷Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. ⁸Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. ⁹He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. ¹²I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. ¹³I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. ¹⁴I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one. ¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. ¹⁸Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. ²⁰But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. ²²Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. ²⁴Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. ²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. ²⁷But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. ²⁸And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.