Joshua 18

1 Then the whole assembly of the people of Israel met together at Shiloh. They set up the tent of meeting there and they conquered the land before them.

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.

2 There were still seven tribes among the people of Israel whose inheritance had not been assigned.

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

3 Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going into the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

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?

4 Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will set out and survey the land up and down. They will write out a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then they will come back to me.

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.

5 They will divide it into seven sections. Judah will remain in their territory on the south, and the house of Joseph will continue in their territory in the north.

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.

6 You will describe the land in seven sections and bring the description here to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh our God.

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.

7 The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of Yahweh is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance, beyond Jordan. This is the inheritance that Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them.”

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.

8 So the men got up and went. Joshua commanded those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description of it and return to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh at Shiloh.”

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.

9 The men left and walked up and down in the land and wrote a description of it in a scroll by its cities in seven sections, listing the cities in each section. Then they returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.

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.

10 Then Joshua cast lots for them at Shiloh before Yahweh. It was there that Joshua assigned the land to the people of Israel, and to each was given his portion of the land.

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

11 The assignment of land for the tribe of Benjamin clan by clan. The territory of their assigned land was located between the descendants of Judah and the descendants of Joseph.

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.

12 On the north side, their border began at the Jordan. The border went up to the ridge north of Jericho, and then up through the hill country westward. There it reached the wilderness of Beth Aven.

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,

13 From there the border passed along south in the direction of Luz (the same place as Bethel). Then the border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies south of Beth Horon.

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.

14 The boundary then went in another direction: On the western side it turned toward the south, heading toward the mountain across from Beth Horon. This boundary ended at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city that belonged to the tribe of Judah. This formed the border on the western side.

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.

15 The south side began just outside of Kiriath Jearim. The border went from there to Ephron, to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.

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.

16 The boundary then went down to the border of the mountain which was opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which was at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. It then went down to the Valley of Hinnom, south of the slope of the Jebusites, and continued down to En Rogel.

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,

17 It turned northward, going in the direction of En Shemesh, and from there it went out to Geliloth, which was opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

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

18 It passed on to the north of the shoulder of Beth Arabah and down to the Arabah.

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,

19 The border passed on to the north shoulder of Beth Hoglah. The border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the boundary on the south.

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:

20 The Jordan formed its border on the eastern side. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, and it was given clan by clan, border after border, all around.

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.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, had these cities: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,

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

22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

Betharaba and Samaraim and Bethel,

23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

And Avim and Aphara and Ophera,

24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. There were twelve cities, including their villages.

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

25 There were also the cities of Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

Gabam and Rama and Beroth,

26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,

And Mesphe, and Caphara, and Amosa,

27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

And Recem, Jarephel and Tharela,

28 Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (the same as Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. There were fourteen cities, including their villages. This was the inheritance of Benjamin for their clans.

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.