Forty-eight Cities of the Levites

21 Then the heads of fathers’ households of ^(A)the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. ² And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “^(B)The Lord commanded ^[a]through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.” ³ So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, in accordance with the ^[b]command of the Lord. ⁴ Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And to the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, thirteen cities were given by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of the Simeonites, and from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁵ And to the rest of the sons of Kohath ten cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶ And to the sons of Gershon thirteen cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ To the sons of Merari according to their families twelve cities were given from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun.

⁸ Now the ^(C)sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded ^[c]through Moses.

⁹ They gave these cities which are mentioned here by name from the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon; ¹⁰ and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, because the lot was theirs first. ¹¹ So ^(D)they gave them Kiriath-arba (Arba being the ^(E)father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands. ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.

¹³ So ^(F)to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave ^(G)Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(H)Libnah with its pasture lands, ^14 (I)Jattir with its pasture lands, ^(J)Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ^15 [d]Holon with its pasture lands, ^(K)Debir with its pasture lands, ^16 [e]Ain with its pasture lands, ^(L)Juttah with its pasture lands, and ^(M)Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin, ^(N)Gibeon with its pasture lands, ^(O)Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands, and ^[f]Almon with its pasture lands; four cities. ¹⁹ All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

²⁰ Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the ^(P)families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, that is, to the rest of the sons of Kohath. ²¹ They gave them ^(Q)Shechem, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasture lands, ²² and Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands; four cities. ²³ And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; four cities. ²⁵ From the half-tribe of Manasseh, they allotted Taanach with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; two cities. ²⁶ All the cities with their pasture lands for the families of the rest of the sons of Kohath were ten.

²⁷ And ^(R)to the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities. ²⁸ And from the tribe of Issachar they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and En-gannim with its pasture lands; four cities. ³⁰ From the tribe of Asher, they gave Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands; four cities. ³² And from the tribe of Naphtali, they gave ^(S)Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities. ³³ All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

³⁴ And to the families of ^(T)the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities. ³⁶ From the tribe of Reuben they gave ^(U)Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities. ³⁸ And from the tribe of Gad, they gave ^(V)Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(W)Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ³⁹ Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all. ⁴⁰ All these were the cities of the sons of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.

^41 (X)All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands. ⁴² These cities individually had ^[g]their surrounding pasture lands; this is how it was with all these cities.

^43 (Y)So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and ^(Z)they took possession of it and lived in it. ⁴⁴ And the Lord ^(AA)gave them rest on every side, in accordance with everything that He had sworn to their fathers, and ^(AB)no one of all their enemies stood before them; ^(AC)the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. ^45 (AD)Not ^[h]one of the good promises which the Lord had ^[i]made to the house of Israel failed; everything came to pass.

Tribes beyond Jordan Return

22 ^(AE)Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, ^(AF)and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. ³ You have not abandoned your brothers these many days to this day, but have fulfilled the obligation of the commandment of the Lord your God. ⁴ And now ^(AG)the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan. ⁵ Only be very careful to ^[j]follow the commandment and the Law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to ^(AH)love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways, and keep His commandments and cling to Him, and serve Him ^(AI)with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua ^(AJ)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now ^(AK)to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but ^(AL)to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he also blessed them, ⁸ and said to ^[k]them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very many livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; ^(AM)divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.” ⁹ So the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, ^[l]leaving the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the ^(AN)land of Gilead, to the land of their possession in which they had settled, in accordance with the ^[m]command of the Lord ^[n]through Moses.

The Offensive Altar

¹⁰ When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, ^[o]a large altar in appearance. ¹¹ But the sons of Israel ^[p]heard a report: “Behold, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have ^(AO)built an altar at the ^[q]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” ¹² And when the sons of Israel heard about it, the entire congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at ^(AP)Shiloh to go up against them in battle.

¹³ Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, ^(AQ)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴ and with him ten leaders, one leader for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and ^(AR)each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the ^[r]thousands of Israel. ¹⁵ They came to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, ¹⁶ “This is what the whole congregation of the Lord says: ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by ^(AS)building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day? ¹⁷ Is ^(AT)the wrongdoing of Peor ^[s]not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although ^[t]a plague came on the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸ that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, ^(AU)He will be angry with the entire congregation of Israel tomorrow. ¹⁹ If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then ^[u]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s ^[v]tabernacle ^[w]stands, and settle among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us, by ^(AV)building an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Did ^(AW)Achan the son of Zerah not act unfaithfully in the things designated for destruction, and wrath fall on the entire congregation of Israel? So that man did not perish alone in his guilt.’”

²¹ Then the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the ^[x]families of Israel. ²² “The ^(AX)Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! ^(AY)He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the Lord, do not save us this day! ²³ If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if to ^(AZ)offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself ^[y]demand it. ²⁴ But truly we have done this out of concern, ^[z]for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our ^[aa]sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the Lord.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord.’

²⁶ “Therefore we said, ‘Let’s ^[ab]build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; ²⁷ rather, it shall be ^(BA)a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to ^(BB)perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ ²⁸ Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather, it is a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day, by ^(BC)building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His ^[ac]tabernacle.”

³⁰ So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, that is, the heads of the ^[ad]families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. ³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the ^(BD)Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have saved the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”

³² Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them. ³³ The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel ^(BE)blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. ³⁴ And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad ^(BF)called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

God Humbles the Proud, but Exalts the Righteous.

For the music director; set to ^[a]Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

7 After these things Jesus ^(A)was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because ^(B)the Jews ^(C)were seeking to kill Him. ² Now the feast of the Jews, ^(D)the Feast of Booths, was near. ³ So His ^(E)brothers said to Him, “Move on from here and go into Judea, so that Your ^(F)disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret ^[a]when he himself is striving to be known publicly. If You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even His ^(G)brothers believed in Him. ⁶ So Jesus *said to them, “^(H)My time is not yet here, but your time is always ready. ^7 (I)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it, that ^(J)its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because ^(K)My time has not yet fully arrived.” ⁹ Now having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ But when His ^(L)brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as though in secret. ^11 (M)So the Jews ^(N)were looking for Him at the feast and saying, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was a great deal of talk about Him in secret among the crowds: ^(O)some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He is misleading the people.” ¹³ However, no one was speaking openly about Him, for ^(P)fear of ^[b]the Jews.

¹⁴ But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple area, and began to ^(Q)teach. ^15 (R)The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man ^(S)become learned, not having been educated?” ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them and said, “^(T)My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me. ^17 (U)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. ¹⁸ The one who speaks from himself ^(V)seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

¹⁹ “^(W)Did Moses not give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why are you ^(X)seeking to kill Me?” ²⁰ The crowd answered, “^(Y)You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill You?” ²¹ Jesus answered them, “I did ^(Z)one ^[c]deed, and you all are astonished. ²² For this reason ^(AA)Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from ^(AB)the fathers), and even on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. ^23 (AC)If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not ^(AD)judge by the outward appearance, but judge ^[d]with righteous judgment.”

²⁵ So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this man not the one whom they are seeking to kill? ²⁶ And yet look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. ^(AE)The rulers do not really know that this is the ^[e]Christ, do they? ²⁷ However, ^(AF)we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” ²⁸ Then Jesus cried out in the temple, ^(AG)teaching and saying, “^(AH)You both know Me and you know where I am from; and ^(AI)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ^29 (AJ)I do know Him, because ^(AK)I am from Him, and ^(AL)He sent Me.” ³⁰ So they ^(AM)were seeking to arrest Him; and yet no one laid a hand on Him, because His ^(AN)hour had not yet come. ³¹ But ^(AO)many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “^(AP)When the ^[f]Christ comes, He will not perform more ^[g](AQ)signs than those which this man has done, will He?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent ^(AR)officers to ^(AS)arrest Him. ³³ Therefore Jesus said, “^(AT)For a little while longer I am going to be with you, and then ^(AU)I am going to Him who sent Me. ^34 (AV)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” ^35 (AW)The Jews then said to one another, “^(AX)Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He does not intend to go to ^(AY)the Dispersion among ^(AZ)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, does He? ³⁶ What is this statement that He said, ‘^(BA)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ Now on ^(BB)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “^(BC)If anyone is thirsty, ^[h]let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ The one who believes in Me, ^(BD)as the Scripture said, ‘^[i]From his innermost being will flow rivers of ^(BE)living water.’” ³⁹ But this He said ^(BF)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for ^(BG)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet ^(BH)glorified.

People’s Division over Jesus

⁴⁰ Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is ^(BI)the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others were saying, “This is the ^[j]Christ.” But others were saying, “^(BJ)Surely the ^[k]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? ⁴² Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from ^(BK)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So ^(BL)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(BM)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵ The ^(BN)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” ⁴⁶ The ^(BO)officers answered, “^(BP)Never has a man spoken in this way!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees then replied to them, “^(BQ)You have not been led astray too, have you? ^48 (BR)Not one of ^(BS)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” ^50 (BT)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, ⁵¹ “^(BU)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ⁵² They answered and said to him, “^(BV)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” ⁵³ [[^[l]And everyone went to his home.