Joshua 17

1 And the lot is for the tribe of Manasseh (for he [is] first-born of Joseph), for Machir first-born of Manasseh, father of Gilead, for he hath been a man of war, and his are Gilead and Bashan.

This was the allocation to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's firstborn son. Machir was Manasseh's firstborn son who was the father of Gilead. Because Machir had been an excellent fighter, Gilead and Bashan had already been allocated to him.

2 And there is for the sons of Manasseh who are left, for their families; for the sons of Abiezer, and for the sons of Helek, and for the sons of Asriel, and for the sons of Shechem, and for the sons of Hepher, and for the sons of Shemida; these [are] the children of Manasseh son of Joseph — the males — by their families.

The allocation was for the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, to the families of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, by families.

3 As to Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, he hath no children except daughters, and these [are] the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah,

But Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He only had daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

4 and they draw near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, 'Jehovah commanded Moses to give to us an inheritance in the midst of our brethren;' and he giveth to them, at the command of Jehovah, an inheritance in the midst of the brethren of their father.

They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, and told them, “The Lord ordered Moses to give us an allocation of land along with our brothers.” So Joshua allotted land to them along with their brothers, as the Lord had ordered.

5 And ten portions fall [to] Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan, which [are] beyond the Jordan;

Consequently Manasseh received ten shares of land beside the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan,

6 for the daughters of Manasseh have inherited an inheritance in the midst of his sons, and the land of Gilead hath been to the sons of Manasseh who are left.

because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an allocation along with the sons. (The land of Gilead had been allotted to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh).

7 And the border of Manasseh is from Asher to Michmethah, which [is] on the front of Shechem, and the border hath gone on unto the right, unto the inhabitants of En-Tappuah.

The boundary of the tribe of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath, near Shechem, then south to the spring of Tappuah.

8 To Manasseh hath been the land of Tappuah, and Tappuah unto the border of Manasseh is to the sons of Ephraim.

The land around Tappuah was allocated to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, which was on the border of Manasseh's land, was allocated to Ephraim.

9 And the border hath come down [to] the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook; these cities of Ephraim [are] in the midst of the cities of Manasseh, and the border of Manasseh [is] on the north of the brook, and its outgoings are at the sea.

From there the boundary ran down to the valley of Kenah. South of the valley some of the towns belonged to Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh. The boundary ran along the north side of the valley and ended at the sea.

10 Southward [is] to Ephraim and northward to Manasseh, and the sea is his border, and in Asher they meet on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

To the south the land belonged to Ephraim, and to the north, to Manasseh. The sea is the boundary. The boundary to the north was with Asher, and with Issachar to the east.

11 And Manasseh hath in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, three counties.

The following towns with their associated villages were allocated to Manasseh but lay within the land of Issachar and Asher: Beth-shan, Ibleam, Dor (on the coast), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo.

12 And the sons of Manasseh have not been able to occupy these cities, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in this land,

But the descendants of Manasseh could not take possession of these towns because the Canaanites were determined to go on occupying the land.

13 and it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have been strong, that they put the Canaanite to tribute, and have not utterly dispossessed him.

However, later on, when the Israelites grew strong enough, they made the Canaanites do forced labor—but they did not drive them out.

14 And the sons of Joseph speak with Joshua, saying, 'Wherefore hast thou given to me an inheritance — one lot and one portion, and I a numerous people? hitherto hath Jehovah blessed me.'

Then the descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked him, “Why have you given us only one allocation—only one share of the land—when there's so many of us because the Lord has blessed us so much?”

15 And Joshua saith unto them, 'If thou [art] a numerous people, go up for thee to the forest, then thou hast prepared for thee there, in the land of the Perizzite, and of the Rephaim, when mount Ephraim hath been narrow for thee.'

Joshua told them, “If there's so many of you, if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, then go and clear ground for yourselves from the forest in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”

16 And the sons of Joseph say, 'The hill is not found to us, and a chariot of iron [is] with every Canaanite who is dwelling in the land of the valley — to him who [is] in Beth-Shean and its towns, and to him who [is] in the valley of Jezreel.'

The descendants of Joseph replied, “The hill country isn't big enough for us, but the Canaanites living in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its villages, and those in the valley of Jezreel.”

17 And Joshua speaketh unto the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, 'Thou [art] a numerous people, and hast great power; thou hast not one lot [only],

Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so many, and you are so strong, you will be given more than just one share.

18 because the mountain is thine; because it [is] a forest — thou hast prepared it, and its outgoings have been thine; because thou dost dispossess the Canaanite, though it hath chariots of iron — though it [is] strong.'

You will be allocated the hill country in addition. Though it is forest, you will clear it and own it, from one end to the other. You will drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots, and even though they are strong.”