Joshua 18

1 And all the children of Israel assembled together in Silo, and there they set up the tabernacle of the testimony, and the land was subdued before them.

The land had been subdued and lay before them. The Israelites gathered together at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting.

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

However, seven of the Israelite tribes had not received their land allocations.

3 And Josue said to them: How long are you indolent and slack, and go not in to possess the land which the Lord the God of your fathers hath given you?

So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long will you go on being reluctant to go and take possession of the land that the Lord gave your forefathers?

4 Choose of every tribe three men, that I may send them, and they may go and compass the land, and mark it out according to the number of each multitude: and bring back to me what they have marked out.

Choose three men from each tribe and I will send them out to explore the land. Then they can write a description regarding the land allocations and bring it to me.

5 Divide to yourselves the land into seven parts: let Juda be in his bounds on the south side, and the house of Joseph on the north.

They are to divide the land into seven parts, up to the boundary of Judah's land in the south and Joseph's land in the north.

6 The land in the midst between these mark ye out into seven parts; and you shall come hither to me, that I may cast lots for you before the Lord your God.

Once you have written the description the land, dividing it in seven parts, you will bring it to me here and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God.

7 For the Levites have no part among you, but the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad and Ruben, and the half tribe of Manasses have already received their possessions beyond the Jordan eastward: which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.

But the Levites do not receive a share, for their role as priests of the Lord is their allocation. Also, Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their allocation that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave them on the east side of the Jordan.”

8 And when the men were risen up, to go to mark out the land, Josue commanded them, saying: Go round the land and mark it out, and return to me: that I may cast lots for you before the Lord in Silo.

As the men started out on their way to explore the land. Joshua told them, “Go throughout the land and write a description of what you find. Then return to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.”

9 So they went: and surveying it divided it into seven parts, writing them down in a book. And they returned to Josue, to the camp in Silo.

So the men went and explored the land and wrote down on a scroll a description of the seven parts, recording the towns in each part. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh

10 And he cast lots before the Lord in Silo, and divided the land to the children of Israel into seven parts.

where Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the Lord. There Joshua divided the land up and allotted the different parts to the remaining Israelite tribes.

11 And first came up the lot of the children of Benjamin by their families, to possess the land between the children of Juda, and the children of Joseph.

The first lot cast went to the tribe of Benjamin, by families. The land allotted lay between that of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph.

12 And their border northward was from the Jordan: going along by the side of Jericho on the north side, and thence going up westward to the mountains, and reaching to the wilderness of Bethaven,

Their boundary began at the Jordan, and went north of the slope of Jericho, west through the hill country, coming out at the wilderness of Beth-aven.

13 And passing along southward by Luza, the same is Bethel: and it goeth down into Ataroth-addar to the mountain, that is on the south of the nether Beth-horon.

Then the boundary went south to Luz (or Bethel) and on down to Ataroth-addar on the mountain south of Lower Beth-horon.

14 And it bendeth thence going round towards the sea, south of the mountain that looketh towards Beth-horon to the southwest: and the outgoings thereof are into Cariathbaal, which is called also Cariathiarim, a city of the children of Juda. This is their coast towards the sea, westward.

Here the boundary turned south along the western side of the mountain facing Beth-horon, finishing at Kiriath-baal (or Kiriath-jearim), a town of the tribe of Judah. This was the western boundary.

15 But on the south side the border goeth out from part of Cariathiarim towards the sea, and cometh to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoa.

The southern boundary began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim. It ran to the spring at Nephtoah,

16 And it goeth down to that part of the mountain that looketh on the valley of the children of Ennom: and is over against the north quarter in the furthermost part of the valley of Raphaim, and it goeth down into Geennom (that is the valley of Ennom) by the side of the Jebusite to the south: and cometh to the fountain of Rogel,

and then down to the foot of the mountain that faces the valley of Ben-hinnom, at the north end of the valley of Rephaim. Then it went down the valley of Hinnom, along the slope near the Jebusite town, south towards En-rogel.

17 Passing thence to the north, and going out to Ensemes, that is to say, the fountain of the sue:

From there it headed north to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, opposite the heights of Adummim, and then on down to the Stone of Bohan (Reuben's son).

18 And it passeth along to the hills that are over against the ascent of Adommim: and it goeth down to Abenboen, that is, the stone of Been the son of Ruben: and it passeth on the north side to the champaign countries; and goeth down into the plain,

Then it went along the ridge opposite the Jordan Valley to the north, and then down into the Jordan Valley itself.

19 And it passeth by Bethhagla northward: and the outgoings thereof are towards the north of the most salt sea at the south end of the Jordan:

From there it ran along the north slope of Beth-hoglah, ending at the north bay of the Salt Sea, the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary.

20 Which is the border of it on the east side. This is the possession of the children of Benjamin by their borders round about, and their families.

The eastern boundary was the Jordan. These were the boundaries around the land of the tribe of Benjamin, by families.

21 And their cities were, Jericho and Bethhagla and Vale-Casis,

These were the towns of the tribe of Benjamin, according to families: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,

22 Betharaba and Samaraim and Bethel,

Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

23 And Avim and Aphara and Ophera,

Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

24 The town Emona and Ophni and Gabee: twelve cities, and their villages.

Kephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns with their associated villages.

25 Gabam and Rama and Beroth,

In addition: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

26 And Mesphe, and Caphara, and Amosa,

Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,

27 And Recem, Jarephel and Tharela,

Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

28 And Sela, Eleph and Jebus, which is Jerusalem, Gabaath and Cariath: fourteen cities, and their villages. This is the possession of the children of Benjamin by their families.

Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (or Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen towns with their associated villages. This was the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin, by families.