Joshua 21

1 And the heads of the fathers of the Levites draw near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel,

And the leaders of the families of Levi approached Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the rulers of the extended families of each of the tribes of the sons of Israel.

2 and they speak to them in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, saying, “YHWH commanded by the hand of Moses to give to us cities to dwell in, and their outskirts for our livestock.”

And they spoke to them at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, and they said, “The Lord instructed, by the hand of Moses, that cities should be given to us as habitations, with their suburbs to nourish our cattle.”

3 And the sons of Israel give to the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the command of YHWH, these cities and their outskirts:

And so the sons of Israel gave cities and their suburbs from their possessions, in accord with the order of the Lord.

4 and the lot goes out for the families of the Kohathite, and there are for the sons of Aaron the priest (of the Levites), out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities by lot,

And the lot went out for the family of Kohath, of the sons of Aaron, the priest, from the tribes of Judah and Simeon and Benjamin: thirteen cities.

5 and for the sons of Kohath who are left, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities by lot.

And to the remainder of the sons of Kohath, that is, to the Levites who were left over, there went, from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan, and from the one half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

6 And for the sons of Gershon, out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, [are] thirteen cities by lot.

And next the lot went out to the sons of Gershon, so that they would receive, from the tribes of Issachar and Asher and Naphtali, and from the one half tribe of Manasseh at Bashan: the number of thirteen cities.

7 For the sons of Merari, for their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, [are] twelve cities.

And to the sons of Merari, by their families, from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Zebulun, there went twelve cities.

8 And the sons of Israel give these cities and their outskirts to the Levites, as YHWH commanded by the hand of Moses, by lot.

And so the sons of Israel gave cities and their suburbs to the Levites, just as the Lord instructed by the hand of Moses, distributing to each by lot.

9 And they give out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, these cities which are called by name;

From the tribes of the sons of Judah and Simeon, Joshua gave cities, whose names are these:

10 and they are for the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathite, of the sons of Levi, for the first lot has been theirs;

to the sons of Aaron, of the families of Kohath of the stock of Levi, (for the first lot went out for them, )

11 and they give to them the city of Arba father of Anak (it [is] Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, and its outskirts around it;

the city of Arba, the father of Anak, which is called Hebron, on the mountain of Judah, and its surrounding suburbs.

12 and they have given the field of the city and its villages to Caleb son of Jephunneh for his possession.

Yet truly, the fields and its villages he had given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as a possession.

13 And to the sons of Aaron the priest they have given the city of refuge [for] the manslayer, Hebron and its outskirts, and Libnah and its outskirts,

Therefore, he gave to the sons of Aaron the priest, Hebron as a city of refuge, as well as its suburbs, and Libnah, with its suburbs,

14 and Jattir and its outskirts, and Eshtemoa and its outskirts,

and Jattir, and Eshtemoa,

15 and Holon and its outskirts, and Debir and its outskirts,

and Holon, and Debir,

16 and Ain and its outskirts, and Juttah and its outskirts, Beth-Shemesh and its outskirts; nine cities out of these two tribes.

and Ain, and Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, with their suburbs: nine cities from two tribes, just as has been said.

17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its outskirts, Geba and its outskirts,

Then, from the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, he gave Gibeon, and Geba,

18 Anathoth and its outskirts, and Almon and its outskirts—four cities;

and Anathoth, and Almon, with their suburbs: four cities.

19 all the cities of the sons of Aaron the priests, [are] thirteen cities and their outskirts.

All the cities together of the sons of Aaron, the priest, were thirteen, with their suburbs.

20 And for the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, who are left of the sons of Kohath, even the cities of their lot are of the tribe of Ephraim;

Yet truly, the remainder of the families of the sons of Kohath, of the stock of Levi, were given this possession:

21 and they give to them the city of refuge [for] the manslayer, Shechem and its outskirts, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Gezer and its outskirts,

from the tribe of Ephraim, Shechem, one of the cities of refuge, with its suburbs, on mount Ephraim, and Gezer,

22 and Kibzaim and its outskirts, and Beth-Horon and its outskirts—four cities.

and Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, with their suburbs, four cities;

23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its outskirts, Gibbethon and its outskirts,

and from the tribe of Dan, Elteke and Gibbethon,

24 Aijalon and its outskirts, Gath-Rimmon and its outskirts—four cities.

and Aijalon and Gath-Rimmon, with their suburbs, four cities;

25 And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and its outskirts, and Gath-Rimmon and its outskirts—two cities;

then, from the one half tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and Gath-Rimmon, with their suburbs, two cities.

26 all the cities [are] ten and their outskirts, for the families of the sons of Kohath who are left.

All the cities were ten, with their suburbs; these were given to the sons of Kohath, of the lesser degree.

27 And for the sons of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge [for] the manslayer, Golan in Bashan and its outskirts, and Beeshterah and its outskirts—two cities.

Likewise, to the sons of Gershon, of the stock of Levi, from the one half tribe of Manasseh, went Golan in Bashan, one of the cities of refuge, and Bosra, with their suburbs, two cities;

28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon and its outskirts, Dabarath and its outskirts,

also, from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, and Daberath,

29 Jarmuth and its outskirts, En-Gannim and its outskirts—four cities.

and Jarmuth, and Engannim, with their suburbs, four cities;

30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal and its outskirts, Abdon and its outskirts,

then, from the tribe of Asher, Mishal and Abdon,

31 Helkath and its outskirts, and Rehob and its outskirts—four cities.

and Helkath and Rehob, with their suburbs, four cities;

32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge [for] the manslayer, Kedesh in Galilee and its outskirts, and Hammoth-Dor and its outskirts, and Kartan and its outskirts—three cities;

likewise, from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, one of the cities of refuge, and Hammoth-Dor, and Kartan, with their suburbs, three cities.

33 all the cities of the Gershonite, for their families, [are] thirteen cities and their outskirts.

All the cities of the families of Gershon were thirteen, with their suburbs.

34 And for the families of the sons of Merari, the Levites, who are left, [are, ] out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its outskirts, Kartah and its outskirts,

Then, to the sons of Merari, Levites of the lesser degree, by their families, were given, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and Kartah,

35 Dimnah and its outskirts, Nahalal and its outskirts—four cities.

and Dimnah and Nahalal, four cities with their suburbs;

36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its outskirts, and Jahazah and its outskirts,

from the tribe of Reuben, beyond the Jordan, opposite Jericho, Bezer in the wilderness, one of the cities of refuge, Misor and Jazer, and Jethson and Mephaath, four cities with their suburbs;

37 Kedemoth and its outskirts, and Mephaath and its outskirts—four cities.

from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth of Gilead, one of the cities of refuge, and Mahanaim and Heshbon and Jazer, four cities with their suburbs.

38 And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge [for] the manslayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its outskirts, and Mahanaim and its outskirts,

39 Heshbon and its outskirts, Jazer and its outskirts—four cities [in] all.

40 All the cities for the sons of Merari, for their families, who are left of the families of the Levites—their lot is twelve cities.

All the cities of the sons of Merari, by their families and extended families, were twelve.

41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel [are] forty-eight cities, and their outskirts.

And so all the cities of the Levites, in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel, were forty-eight,

42 These cities are each city and its outskirts around it; so to all these cities.

with their suburbs, each distributed by families.

43 And YHWH gives to Israel the whole of the land which He has sworn to give to their fathers, and they possess it, and dwell in it;

And the Lord God gave to Israel all the land that he had sworn he would deliver to their fathers. And they possessed it, and they lived in it.

44 and YHWH gives rest to them all around, according to all that which He has sworn to their fathers, and there has not stood a man in their presence of all their enemies, YHWH has given the whole of their enemies into their hand;

And he gave them peace with all the surrounding nations. And none of their enemies dared to stand against them; instead, they were brought under their sovereignty.

45 there has not fallen a thing of all the good thing which YHWH spoke to the house of Israel—the whole has come.

Indeed, not so much as one word that he had promised to provide for them was left empty; instead, everything was fulfilled.