Joshua 18

1 And all the sons of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, and there they stationed the Tabernacle of the Testimony. And the land was subjected to them.

And all the meeting of the children of Israel came together at Shiloh and put up the Tent of meeting there: and the land was crushed before them.

2 But there remained seven tribes of the sons of Israel which had not yet received their possessions.

But there were still seven tribes among the children of Israel who had not taken up their heritage.

3 And Joshua said to them: “For how long will you draw back in idleness, and not enter to possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given to you?

Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, Why are you so slow to go in and take up your heritage in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?

4 Select three men from each tribe, so that I may send them, and they may go forth and circle through the land, and may describe it according to the number of each multitude, and may bring back to me what they have written down.

Take from among you three men from every tribe; and I will send them to go through the land and make a record of it for distribution as their heritage; then let them come back to me.

5 Divide the land for yourselves into seven parts. Let Judah be its bounds on the southern side, and the house of Joseph to the north.

And let them make division of it into seven parts: let Judah keep inside his limit on the south, and let the children of Joseph keep inside their limit on the north.

6 The land that is in the middle, between these, write it down in seven parts. And you shall come to me, so that I may cast lots for you about this, before the Lord your God.

And you are to have the land marked out in seven parts, and come back to me with the record; and I will make the distribution for you here by the decision of the Lord our God.

7 But there is no portion among you for the Levites. Instead, the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad and Reuben, and the one half tribe of Manasseh, have already received their possessions beyond the Jordan in the eastern region, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave to them.”

For the Levites have no part among you; to be the Lord's priests is their heritage; and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have had their heritage on the east side of Jordan, given to them by Moses, the servant of the Lord.

8 And when the men had risen up, so that they might go out to describe the land, Joshua instructed them, saying, “Circle through the land, and describe it, and return to me, so that I may cast lots for you about this, before the Lord, in Shiloh.”

So the men got up and went; and Joshua gave orders to those who went, to make a record of the land, saying, Go up and down through the land, and make a record of it and come back here to me, and I will make the distribution for you here by the decision of the Lord in Shiloh.

9 And so they went out. And surveying it, they divided it into seven parts, writing it in a book. And they returned to Joshua, to the camp at Shiloh.

So the men went, travelling through the land, and made a record of it by towns in seven parts in a book, and came back to Joshua to the tent-circle at Shiloh.

10 And he cast lots before the Lord, at Shiloh, and he divided the land to the sons of Israel, in seven parts.

And Joshua made the distribution for them in Shiloh by the decision of the Lord, marking out the land for the children of Israel by their divisions.

11 And the first lot went to the sons of Benjamin, by their families, so that they would possess the land between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.

And the first heritage came out for the tribe of Benjamin by their families: and the limit of their heritage went between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

12 And their border toward the north was from the Jordan, continuing on, near the side of Jericho in the northern region, and from there, ascending toward the west to the mountains, and extending to the wilderness of Bethaven.

And their limit on the north was from the Jordan, and the line goes up to the side of Jericho on the north and through the hill-country to the west, ending at the waste land of Beth-aven.

13 And it continues to the south beside Luz, which is Bethel. And it descends into Ataroth-addar, at the mountain which is to the south of lower Beth-horon.

And from there the line goes south to Luz, to the side of Luz (which is Beth-el), then down to Ataroth-addar, by the mountain to the south of Beth-horon the lower.

14 And it turns aside, circling toward the sea, to the south of the mountain which looks out toward Beth-horon, toward the southwest. And its exits are toward Kiriath-baal, which is also called Kiriath-jearim, a city of the sons of Judah. This is their region, toward the sea, in the west.

And the limit is marked as coming round to the south on the west side from the mountain which is south of Beth-horon, and ending at Kiriath-baal (which is Kiriath-jearim), a town of the children of Judah: this is the west part.

15 But to the south, the border goes on from the part of Kiriath-jearim toward the sea, and it continues as far as the Fountain of the waters of Nephtoah.

And the south part is from the farthest point of Kiriath-jearim, and the line goes out to the west to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah:

16 And it descends to that part of the mountain which looks out toward the Valley of the sons of Hinnom. And it is opposite the northern region, in the furthest part of the Valley of the Rephaim. And it descends into Geennom, (that is, the Valley of Hinnom, ) near the side of the Jebusite toward the south. And it extends to the Fountain of Rogel,

And the line goes down to the farthest part of the mountain facing the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is on the north of the valley of Rephaim: from there it goes down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite on the south as far as En-rogel;

17 crossing from there to the north, and going out to En-Shemesh, that is, to the Fountain of the Sun.

And it goes to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, opposite the way up to Adummim, and it goes down to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben;

18 And it passes through to the hills that are opposite the region of the Ascent of Adummim. And it descends to Abenboen, that is, so the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. And it continues on, at the northern side, to the plains. And it descends into the flatlands.

And it goes on to the side facing the Arabah to the north, and down to the Arabah;

19 And it advances before Beth-hoglah, to the north. And its exits are to the north, opposite the bay of the very salty sea, in the southern region at the end of the Jordan,

And on to the north side of Beth-hoglah, ending at the north inlet of the Salt Sea at the south end of Jordan; this is their limit on the south.

20 which is its border to the east. This is the possession of the sons of Benjamin, with their borders all around, and by their families.

And the limit of the east part is the Jordan. This is the heritage of the children of Benjamin, marked out for their families by these limits on all sides.

21 And their cities were: Jericho and Beth-hoglah and the Abrupt Valley,

And the towns of the children of Benjamin, given to them in the order of their families, are Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-kezziz

22 Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel,

And Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Beth-el

23 and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah,

And Avvim and Parah and Ophrah

24 the town of Ammoni, and Ophni, and Geba: twelve cities, and their villages;

And Chephar-Ammoni and Ophni and Geba; twelve towns with their unwalled places;

25 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth,

Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth

26 and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah,

And Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah

27 and Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah,

And Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah

28 and Zela, Haeleph, and Jebus, which is Jerusalem, Gibeah and Kiriath: fourteen cities, and their villages. This is the possession of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families.

And Zela, Eleph and the Jebusite (which is Jerusalem), Gibeath and Kiriath; fourteen towns with their unwalled places. This is the heritage of the children of Benjamin by their families.