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.

Then the tribal leaders of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the leaders of the families of their ancestors within the people 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.”

They said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, “Yahweh commanded you by the hand of Moses to give to us cities to live in, with the 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 Yahweh, the people of Israel gave out of their inheritance the following cities, including their pasturelands, to the Levites.

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 casting of lots for the clans of the Kohathites gave this result: The priests—the descendants of Aaron who were from the Levites—received thirteen cities given from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of the Simeon, and from the tribe of 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 rest of the Kohathites were allotted ten cities from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and from 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.

Then the people descended from Gershon were given, by the casting of lots, thirteen cities from the clans of 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.

The people who were descendants of Merari, clan by clan, 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 people of Israel gave, by casting lots, these cities (including their pasturelands) to the Levites, just as Yahweh had commanded by the hand of 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 assigned land to the following cities, here listed by name.

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

These cities were given to the descendants of Aaron, who were among the clans of the Kohathites, who in turn were from the tribe of Levi. For the first casting of lots had fallen 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.)

The Israelites gave them Kiriath Arba (Arba had been the father of Anak), the same place as Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the pasturelands around it.

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

But the fields of the city, including their villages, were already given 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,

To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasturelands—which was a city of refuge for any who killed another unintentionally—and Libnah with its pasturelands,

14 Jattir, Eshtemoa,

Jattir with its pasturelands, and Eshtemoa with its pasturelands.

15 Holon, Debir,

They also gave Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands,

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

Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasturelands. There were nine cities that were given from these two tribes.

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

From the tribe of Benjamin were given Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands,

18 Anathoth, and Almon.

Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its suburbs—four cities.

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

The cities given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were thirteen cities in all, including their pasturelands.

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:

As for the rest of Kohathites who belong to the Kohathite clans of the Levites—they had cities given to them from the tribe of Ephraim by the casting of lots.

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

To them were given Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim—a city of refuge for any who killed a person unintentionally—Gezer with its pasturelands,

22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon.

Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth Horon with its pasturelands—four cities in all.

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

From the tribe of Dan, the clan of Kohath was given Eltekeh with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands,

24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.

Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath Rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities in all.

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

From the half tribe of Manasseh, the clan of Kohath was given Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath Rimmon with its pasturelands—two cities.

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

There were ten cities in all for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites, including their pasturelands.

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.

From the half tribe of Manasseh, to clans of Gershon, these were other Levite clans, and they gave Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands—a city of refuge for anyone who killed another unintentionally, along with Be Eshterah with its pasturelands—two cities in all.

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

To the clans of Gershon they also gave Kishion from the tribe of Issachar, along with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands,

29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim.

Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En Gannim with its pasturelands—four cities.

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

From the tribe of Asher, they gave Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands,

31 Helkath, and Rehob.

Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities in all.

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.

From the tribe of Naphtali, they gave the clans of Gershon Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands—a city of refuge for anyone who killed another unintentionally; Hammoth Dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities in all.

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

There were thirteen cities in all, out of the clans of Gershon, including their pasturelands.

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,

To the rest of the Levites—the clans of Merari—were given out of the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands,

35 Dimnah, and Nahalal.

Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities in all.

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

To the clans of Merari were given from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands,

37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities.

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,

Out of the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands—a city of refuge for any who killed another unintentionally—and Mahanaim with its pasturelands.

39 Heshbon, and Jazer.

The clans of Merari were also given Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands. These were four cities in all.

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

All these were the cities of the several clans of Merari, who were from the tribe of Levi—twelve cities in all were given to them by the casting of lots.

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

The cities of the Levites taken from the middle of the land possessed by the people of Israel were forty-eight cities, including their pasturelands.

42 Each of these towns had pastures around them.

These cities each had its surrounding pasturelands. It was this way with all these 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.

So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their ancestors. The Israelites took possession of it and settled there.

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.

Then Yahweh gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies could defeat them. Yahweh gave 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 thing among all the good promises that Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel failed to come true. All of them came to be.