² And they spoke to them at ^(A)Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, ^(B)“The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.”

The Remainder of the Land Divided

18 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together ^(A)at Shiloh, and ^(B)set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them.

^2 (A)“Command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites ^(B)common-land around the cities. ³ They shall have the cities to dwell in; and their common-land shall be for their cattle, for their herds, and for all their animals. ⁴ The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around. ⁵ And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities.

⁶ “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint ^(C)six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities. ⁷ So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be ^(D)forty-eight; these you shall give with their common-land. ⁸ And the cities which you will give shall be ^(E)from the possession of the children of Israel; ^(F)from the larger tribe you shall give many, from the smaller you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites, in proportion to the inheritance that each receives.”

Honor the Elders

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, ^(A)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, ^(B)“The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

Be Generous and Do Good

^6 (A)Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ^(A)for a worker is worthy of his food.

⁹ “The district that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. ¹⁰ To these—to the priests—the holy district shall belong: on the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, on the west ten thousand in width, on the east ten thousand in width, and on the south twenty-five thousand in length. The sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the center. ^11 (A)It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, ^(B)as the Levites went astray. ¹² And this district of land that is set apart shall be to them a thing most ^(C)holy by the border of the Levites.

¹³ “Opposite the border of the priests, the ^(D)Levites shall have an area twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width; its entire length shall be twenty-five thousand and its width ten thousand. ^14 (E)And they shall not sell or exchange any of it; they may not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

^15 (F)“The five thousand cubits in width that remain, along the edge of the twenty-five thousand, shall be ^(G)for general use by the city, for dwellings and common-land; and the city shall be in the center. ¹⁶ These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. ¹⁷ The common-land of the city shall be: to the north two hundred and fifty cubits, to the south two hundred and fifty, to the east two hundred and fifty, and to the west two hundred and fifty. ¹⁸ The rest of the length, alongside the district of the holy section, shall be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west. It shall be adjacent to the district of the holy section, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.