1The leaders of the families from the tribe of Gilead, (the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh), who were from the families of Joseph's descendants, approached and spoke before Moses and the leaders, who were the heads of the families of Israel.
2They said, “Yahweh commanded our master to give the land to the Israelites by drawing lots. Our master was also commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
3If his daughters marry men from other tribes of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestors' inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they marry. In that way, it will be taken from our allotted share.
4When the Jubilee year of the Israelites comes, their inheritance will then be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong. So their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers' tribe.”
5Moses gave the Israelites a command from Yahweh, saying, “The tribe of Joseph's sons has spoken correctly.
6This is what Yahweh commands concerning Zelophehad's daughters: ‘They may marry whomever they wish, but they must marry within a family of their father’s tribe.
7This way, no inheritance among the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite must keep the inheritance of their father’s tribe.
8Every daughter who inherits property in any tribe of Israel must marry someone from a family of her father’s tribe, so that every Israelite may keep the inheritance of their ancestors.
9In this way, no inheritance will transfer from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of Israel must retain its own inheritance.’”
10Zelophehad's daughters did as Yahweh commanded Moses:
11Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married the sons of their father’s brothers.
12They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, Joseph’s son. Their inherited land stayed within the tribe of their father’s family.
13These are the commands and rules that Yahweh gave to the people of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, near Jericho.