Joshua 18

1 The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before 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 Seven tribes remained among the children of Israel, which had not yet divided their inheritance.

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

3 Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land, which YHWH, the God of your fathers, has given 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 Appoint for you three men of each tribe. I will send them, and they shall arise, walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me.

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 They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall live in his borders on the south, and the house of Joseph shall live in their borders on 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 You shall survey the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before YHWH our 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 For the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of YHWH is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of YHWH gave 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 The men arose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to survey the land, saying, "Go walk through the land, survey it, and come again to me. I will cast lots for you here before YHWH 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 The men went and passed through the land, and surveyed it by cities into seven portions on a scroll. They came 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 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before YHWH. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

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 The lot of the tribe of the descendants of Benjamin came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out between the descendants of Judah and the descendants 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 Their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward. It ended at the wilderness of Beth Aven.

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 The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on 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 The border extended, and turned around on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and ended at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city of the descendants of Judah. This was the west quarter.

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 The south quarter was from the farthest part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward, and went out to the spring 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 The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which is in the Valley of Rephaim northward. It went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusites southward, and went down to En 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 It extended northward, went out at En Shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is over against the ascent of Adummim. It went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

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 passed on to the north to the shoulder of Beth Arabah, and went down to the Arabah.

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

19 The border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.

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 The Jordan was its border on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the descendants of Benjamin, by the borders around it, according to 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 Now the cities of the tribe of the descendants of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth Hoglah, and Emek Keziz,

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 and 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 and Chephar Ammoni, and Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with 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, and Irpeel, and Taralah,

And Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah

28 and Zelah, Haeleph, and Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), and Gibeath, and Kiriath Jearim; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the descendants 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.