The Rest of the Land Divided

18 All of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh where they set up the Meeting Tent. The land was now under their control. ² But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received their land.

³ So Joshua said to the Israelites: “Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you. ⁴ Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to study the land. They will describe in writing the land their tribe wants as its share, and then they will come back to me. ⁵ They will divide the land into seven parts. The people of Judah will keep their land in the south, and the people of Joseph will keep their land in the north. ⁶ You should describe the seven parts of land in writing and bring what you have written to me. Then I will throw lots in the presence of the Lord our God. ⁷ But the Levites do not get any part of these lands, because they are priests, and their work is to serve the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh have received the land promised to them, which is east of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them.”

⁸ So the men who were chosen to map the land started out. Joshua told them, “Go and study the land and describe it in writing. Then come back to me, and I will throw lots in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men left and went into the land. They described in a scroll each town in the seven parts of the land. Then they came back to Joshua, who was still at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ There Joshua threw lots in the presence of the Lord to choose the lands that should be given to each tribe.

Land for Benjamin

¹¹ The first part of the land was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each family group received some land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin: ¹² The northern border started at the Jordan River and went along the northern edge of Jericho, and then it went west into the mountains. That boundary continued until it was just east of Beth Aven. ¹³ From there it went south to Luz (also called Bethel) and then down to Ataroth Addar, which is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴ At the hill to the south of Beth Horon, the border turned and went south near the western side of the hill. It went to Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim), a town where people of Judah lived. This was the western border.

¹⁵ The southern border started near Kiriath Jearim and went west to the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then it went down to the bottom of the hill, which was near the Valley of Ben Hinnom, on the north side of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley just south of the Jebusite city to En Rogel. ¹⁷ There it turned north and went to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth near the Adummim Pass. Then it went down to the great Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ¹⁸ The border continued to the northern part of Beth Arabah and went down into the Jordan Valley. ¹⁹ From there it went to the northern part of Beth Hoglah and ended at the north shore of the Dead Sea, where the Jordan River flows into the sea. This was the southern border.

²⁰ The Jordan River was the border on the eastern side. So this was the land given to the family groups of Benjamin with the borders on all sides.

²¹ The family groups of Benjamin received these cities: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. There were twelve towns and all their villages.

²⁵ The tribe of Benjamin also received Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. There were fourteen towns and their villages. All these areas are the lands the family groups of Benjamin were given.

Land for Simeon

19 The second part of the land was given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land inside the area of Judah. ² They received Beersheba (also called Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ⁶ Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen. There were thirteen towns and their villages.

⁷ They received the towns of Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan, four towns and their villages. ⁸ They also received all the very small areas with people living in them as far as Baalath Beer (this is the same as Ramah in southern Canaan). So these were the lands given to the family groups in the tribe of Simeon. ⁹ The land of the Simeonites was taken from part of the land of Judah. Since Judah had much more land than they needed, the Simeonites received part of their land.

Land for Zebulun

¹⁰ The third part of the land was given to the tribe of Zebulun. Each family group of Zebulun received some of the land. The border of Zebulun went as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then it went west to Maralah and came near Dabbesheth and then near Jokneam. ¹² Then it turned to the east. It went from Sarid to the area of Kisloth Tabor and on to Daberath and to Japhia. ¹³ It continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin, ending at Rimmon. There the border turned and went toward Neah. ¹⁴ At Neah it turned again and went to the north to Hannathon and continued to the Valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵ Inside this border were the cities of Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages.

¹⁶ So these are the towns and the villages that were given to the family groups of Zebulun.

Land for Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth part of the land was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group of Issachar received some of the land. ¹⁸ Their land included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.

²² The border of their land touched the area called Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh and stopped at the Jordan River. There were sixteen towns and their villages.

²³ These cities and towns were part of the land that was given to the family groups of Issachar.

Land for Asher

²⁴ The fifth part of the land was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group of Asher received some of the land. ²⁵ Their land included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.

The western border touched Mount Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷ Then it turned east and went to Beth Dagon, touching Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El. Then it went north of Beth Emek and Neiel and passed north to Cabul. ²⁸ From there it went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah and continued to Greater Sidon. ²⁹ Then the border went back south toward Ramah and continued to the strong, walled city of Tyre. There it turned and went toward Hosah, ending at the sea. This was in the area of Aczib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages.

³¹ These cities and their villages were part of the land that was given to the family groups of Asher.

Land for Naphtali

³² The sixth part of the land was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group of Naphtali received some of the land. ³³ The border of their land started at the large tree in Zaanannim, which is near Heleph. Then it went through Adami Nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan River. ³⁴ Then it went to the west through Aznoth Tabor and stopped at Hukkok. It went to the area of Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah, at the Jordan River, on the east. ³⁵ The strong, walled cities inside these borders were called Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸ Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and all their villages.

³⁹ The towns and the villages around them were in the land that was given to the family groups of Naphtali.

Land for Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh part of the land was given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group of Dan received some of the land. ⁴¹ Their land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me Jarkon, Rakkon, and the area near Joppa.

⁴⁷ (But the Danites had trouble taking their land. They went and fought against Leshem, defeated it, and killed the people who lived there. So the Danites moved into the town of Leshem and changed its name to Dan, because he was the father of their tribe.) ⁴⁸ All of these towns and villages were given to the family groups of Dan.

Land for Joshua

⁴⁹ After the leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun his land also. ⁵⁰ They gave Joshua the town he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim, just as the Lord commanded. He built up the town and lived there.

⁵¹ So these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of each tribe divided up the land by lots at Shiloh. They met in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Now they were finished dividing the land.

Cities of Safety

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to choose the special cities of safety, as I had Moses command you to do. ³ If a person kills someone accidentally and without meaning to kill him, that person may go to a city of safety to hide. There the killer will be safe from the relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer.

⁴ “When the killer runs to one of those cities, he must stop at the entrance gate, stand there, and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then that person will be allowed to enter the city and will be given a place to live among them. ⁵ But if the one who is chasing him follows him to that city, the leaders of the city must not hand over the killer. It was an accident. He did not hate him beforehand or kill him on purpose. ⁶ The killer must stay in the city until a court comes to a decision and until the high priest dies. Then he may go back home to the town from which he ran away.”

⁷ So the Israelites chose these cities to be cities of safety: Kedesh in Galilee in the mountains of Naphtali; Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the mountains of Judah; ⁸ Bezer on the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho in the desert in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh. ⁹ Any Israelite or anyone living among them who killed someone accidentally was to be allowed to run to one of these cities of safety. There he would not be killed, before he was judged, by the relative who had the duty of punishing a murderer.

Paul Is like the Other Apostles

9 I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. ² If others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do, because you are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.

³ This is the answer I give people who want to judge me: ⁴ Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ⁵ Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Peter? ⁶ Are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? ⁷ No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes. No person takes care of a flock without drinking some of the milk.

⁸ I do not say this by human authority; God’s law also says the same thing. ⁹ It is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.”^[a] When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. ¹⁰ He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us, because it goes on to say: “The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work.” ¹¹ Since we planted spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we should harvest material things? ¹² If others have the right to get something from you, surely we have this right, too. But we do not use it. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not keep anyone from believing the Good News of Christ. ¹³ Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.

¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. ¹⁶ Telling the Good News does not give me any reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. ¹⁷ If I preach because it is my own choice, I have a reward. But if I preach and it is not my choice to do so, I am only doing the duty that was given to me. ¹⁸ So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. I do not use my full rights in my work of preaching the Good News.

¹⁹ I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to win those who are ruled by the law. ²¹ To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) ²² To those who are weak, I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. ²³ I do all this because of the Good News and so I can share in its blessings.

²⁴ You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! ²⁵ All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. ²⁶ So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. ²⁷ I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.