Joshua 17

1 Now this lot fell to the tribe of Manasseh, since he is the firstborn of Joseph: to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, who was a fighting man, and he had as a possession Gilead and Bashan;

There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

2 and to the rest of the sons of Manasseh, according to their families: to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida. These are the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the males, by their families.

There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.

3 Yet truly, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Mahlah and Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah.

But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

4 And they went before the sight of Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying: “The Lord instructed by the hand of Moses that a possession ought to be given to us, in the midst of our brothers.” And so, he gave to them, in accord with the order of the Lord, a possession in the midst of the brothers of their father.

And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.

5 And by lot, there fell ten portions to Manasseh, aside from the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan.

And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;

6 And so the daughters of Manasseh possessed an inheritance in the midst of his sons. But the land of Gilead fell by lot to the sons of Manasseh that were left.

Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

7 And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which looks out toward Shechem. And it goes out, to the right, beside the inhabitants of the Fountain of Tappuah.

And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lies before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand to the inhabitants of Entappuah.

8 For by lot, there also fell to Manasseh the land of Tappuah, which is beside the borders of Manasseh, and which belongs to the sons of Ephraim.

Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;

9 And the border descends to the Valley of Reeds, to the south of the torrent of the cities of Ephraim, which are in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is to the north of the torrent, and its exit extends to the sea.

And the coast descended to the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:

10 So it is that the possession of Ephraim is in the south, and that of Manasseh is in the north, and both are enclosed by the sea, and they are joined together by the tribe of Asher to the north, and by the tribe of Issachar to the east.

Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

11 And the inheritance of Manasseh, in Issachar and in Asher, was Bethshean and its villages, and Ibleam with its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with their towns, likewise the inhabitants of Endor with their villages, and similarly the inhabitants of Taanach with their villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo with their villages, and one third part of the city of Naphath.

And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.

12 The sons of Manasseh were not able to overthrow these cities, and so the Canaanite began to dwell in their land.

Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

13 But after the sons of Israel had grown strong, they subdued the Canaanites, and made them their tributaries, but they did not kill them.

Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.

14 And the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, and they said, “Why have you given to me as a possession one lot and one portion, while I am of such a great multitude, and the Lord has blessed me?”

And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, for as much as the LORD has blessed me till now?

15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up into the forest, and cut out space for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for you.”

And Joshua answered them, If you be a great people, then get you up to the wood country, and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for you.

16 And the sons of Joseph responded to him: “We are not able to ascend to the mountains, since the Canaanites, who live in the plains, in which are situated Bethshean, with its villages, and Jezreel, possessing the middle of the valley, use chariots of iron.”

And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.

17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh: “You are a numerous people, and you have great strength. You shall not have only one lot.

And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, You are a great people, and have great power: you shall not have one lot only:

18 Instead, you shall cross to the mountain, and you shall cut down and clear out for yourselves space in which to live. And you shall be able to advance further, when you will have destroyed the Canaanite, who, as you say, has iron chariots and is very strong.”

But the mountain shall be yours; for it is a wood, and you shall cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be yours: for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.