Joshua 21

1 The leaders of the tribe of Levi approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders of the Israelite tribes.

Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel

2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in Canaan, saying, “The Lord gave instructions through Moses to give us towns to live in, and pastures for our flocks.”

at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”

3 So, following the Lord's instructions, the Israelites gave towns and pastures to the Levites from their own allocations.

So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

4 The lot was cast for the families of the Kothaites. These Levites, descendants of Aaron, were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

5 The remaining families of the descendants of Kothah were allotted ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6 The families of the descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh living in Bashan.

The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7 The families of the descendants of Merari were allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 So the Israelites gave the Levites by lot these towns and pastures, as the Lord had instructed through Moses.

So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

9 They gave from the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon the following towns, specifically named,

From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name

10 to the families of the Kothaites, descendants of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, since the first lot fell to them:

to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:

11 Kiriath-arba (or Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, together with the pastures around it. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)

They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)

12 But the more distant fields from the town and the villages had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh to own.

But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13 They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest the following towns and their pastures: Hebron (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Libnah,

So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

14 Jattir, Eshtemoa,

Jattir, Eshtemoa,

15 Holon, Debir,

Holon, Debir,

16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine towns from these two tribes.

Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.

17 From the tribe of Benjamin the following four towns and their pastures: Gibeon, Geba,

And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,

18 Anathoth, and Almon.

Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

19 So in total thirteen towns and their pastures were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

20 As for the remaining families of the children of Kothah from the tribe of Levi, they were given by lot four towns and their pastures from the tribe of Ephraim:

The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities: From the tribe of Ephraim

21 Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Gezer,

they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon.

Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

23 From the tribe of Dan, the following four towns and their pastures: Eltekeh, Gibbethon,

From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon,

24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.

Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh the following two towns and their pastures: Taanach and Gath-rimmon.

And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

26 So in total ten towns and their pastures were given to remaining families of the descendants of Kothah.

In all, ten cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

27 The families of the descendants of Gershon from the tribe of Levi received the following two towns and their pastures from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), and Be-eshterah.

This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

28 From the tribe of Issachar the following four towns and their pastures: Kishion, Daberath,

From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath,

29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim.

Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

30 From the tribe of Asher the following four towns and their pastures: Mishal, Abdon,

From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon,

31 Helkath, and Rehob.

Helkath, and Rehob—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

32 From the tribe of Naphtali the following three towns and their pastures: Kedesh in Galilee (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan.

And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.

33 So in total thirteen towns and their pastures were allotted to the families of Gershon.

In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the Gershonite clans.

34 The families of the descendants of Merari, those remaining from the tribe of Levi, received the following four towns and their pastures from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah,

This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah,

35 Dimnah, and Nahalal.

Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

36 From the tribe of Reuben the following four towns and their pastures: Bezer, Jahaz,

From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz,

37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

38 From the tribe of Gad the following four towns and their pastures: Ramoth in Gilead (a sanctuary town for those who accidentally committed murder), Mahanaim,

And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,

39 Heshbon, and Jazer.

Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands.

40 So in total twelve towns were allotted to the families of Merari, those remaining from the tribe of Levi.

In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans.

41 The Levites received a total of forty-eight towns and pastures within the land of the Israelites.

For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites.

42 Each of these towns had pastures around them.

Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

43 And so the Lord gave to the Israelites all the land he had promised their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled there.

Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.

44 The Lord gave them peace on every side as he had promised their ancestors. Not a single one of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord had handed their enemies over to them to defeat.

And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

45 Not a single one of the good things the Lord promised Israel had failed; everything had come true.

Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.