Joshua 21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 21
Levitical Cities. 1 The heads of the Levite families[a] approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families of the other tribes of the Israelites(A) 2 at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, and said to them, “The Lord commanded, through Moses, that cities be given us to dwell in, with pasture lands for our livestock.”(B) 3 Out of their own heritage, according to the command of the Lord, the Israelites gave the Levites the following cities with their pasture lands.
4 When the first lot among the Levites fell to the clans of the Kohathites, the descendants of Aaron the priest obtained by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities. 5 From the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, the rest of the Kohathites obtained by lot ten cities.(C) 6 From the clans of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, the Gershonites obtained by lot thirteen cities. 7 From the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, the clans of the Merarites obtained twelve cities. 8 These cities with their pasture lands the Israelites gave by lot to the Levites, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Cities of the Priests. 9 (D)From the tribes of the Judahites and Simeonites they gave the following cities 10 and assigned them to the descendants of Aaron in the Kohathite clan of the Levites, since the first lot fell to them: 11 first, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the mountain region of Judah, with the adjacent pasture lands, 12 although the open country and villages belonging to the city had been given to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, as his holding.(E) 13 Thus to the descendants of Aaron the priest were given the city of refuge for homicides at Hebron, with its pasture lands; also, Libnah with its pasture lands, 14 Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, 15 Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, 16 Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities from these two tribes. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin they obtained Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, 18 Anathoth(F) with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands: four cities. 19 These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the priestly descendants of Aaron, were thirteen in all.
Cities of the Other Kohathites. 20 (G)The rest of the Kohathite clans among the Levites obtained by lot, from the tribe of Ephraim, four cities. 21 They were assigned, with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for homicides at Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim; also Gezer with its pasture lands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands. 23 From the tribe of Dan they obtained Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, 24 Aijalon with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands: four cities. 25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands: two cities. 26 These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the rest of the Kohathite clans were ten in all.
Cities of the Gershonites. 27 (H)The Gershonite clan of the Levites received from the half-tribe of Manasseh the city of refuge for homicides at Golan in Bashan, with its pasture lands; and also Beth-Astharoth with its pasture lands: two cities. 28 From the tribe of Issachar they obtained 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, 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 From the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge for homicides at Kedesh in Galilee, with its pasture lands; also Hammath with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands: three cities. 33 The cities which belonged to the Gershonite clans, with their pasture lands, were thirteen in all.
Cities of the Merarites. 34 (I)The Merarite clans, the last of the Levites, received, 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 Also, across the Jordan, from the tribe of Reuben, the city of refuge for homicides at 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 From the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for homicides at Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands, 39 Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands: four cities in all. 40 The cities allotted to the Merarite clans, the last of the Levites, were therefore twelve in all.
41 Thus the total number of cities(J) within the territory of the Israelites which, with their pasture lands, belonged to the Levites, was forty-eight. 42 With each and every one of these cities went the pasture lands round about it.
43 And so the Lord gave Israel the entire land he had sworn to their ancestors he would give them.(K) Once they had taken possession of it, and dwelt in it, 44 the Lord gave them peace on every side, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of their enemies could withstand them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their power. 45 Not a single word of the blessing(L) that the Lord had promised to the house of Israel failed; it all came true.
Footnotes
- 21:1 The order to establish special cities for the Levites is given in Nm 35:1–8. The forty-eight cities listed here were hardly the exclusive possession of the Levites; at least the more important of them, such as Hebron, Shechem, and Ramoth in Gilead, were certainly peopled for the most part by the tribe in whose territory they were situated. But in all these cities the Levites had special property rights which they did not possess in other cities; cf. Lv 25:32–34.
Joshua 21
Wycliffe Bible
21 And the princes of the families of Levi nighed to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the dukes of the kindreds, by all the lineages of the sons of Israel; (And the leaders of the families of Levi came to Eleazar, the priest, and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the families, of all the tribes of the Israelites;)
2 and they spake to them in Shiloh, a city of the land of Canaan, and they said, The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that cities should be given to us to dwell in, and the suburbs of those for our work beasts to be fed in. (and they spoke to them in Shiloh, a city in the land of Canaan, and they said, The Lord commanded by Moses, that we should be given cities to live in, and also their suburbs for our work beasts to be fed in.)
3 And the sons of Israel gave of their possessions, by commandment of the Lord, cities and the suburbs of those. (And so the Israelites gave to the Levites out of their possessions, by the command of the Lord, the following cities and their suburbs.)
4 And the lot went out into the family of Kohath, of the sons of Aaron, the priest, of the lineages of Judah, and of Simeon, and of Benjamin, thirteen cities; (And the lot went out to the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the sons of Aaron, the priest, thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, and Simeon, and Benjamin;)
5 and to the others of the sons of Kohath, that is, to the deacons that were left (over), of the lineages of Ephraim, and of Dan, and of the half lineage of Manasseh, ten cities. (and to the rest of the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the lower degree, ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, and Dan, and the western half of the tribe of Manasseh.)
6 And lot went out to the sons of Gershon, that they should take of the lineages of Issachar, and of Asher, and of Naphtali, and of the half lineage of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities in number; (And the lot went out to the Gershonites, that they should receive from the tribes of Issachar, and Asher, and Naphtali, and from the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities in number;)
7 and to the sons of Merari, by their families, of the lineages of Reuben, and of Gad, and of Zebulun, twelve cities. (and for the Merarites, by their families, from the tribes of Reuben, and Gad, and Zebulun, twelve cities.)
8 And the sons of Israel gave to the deacons cities, and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses; and all gave by lot. (And so the Israelites gave to the Levites these cities, and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by Moses; and all gave by lot.)
9 (Out) Of [the] possessions of the lineages of the sons of Judah, and of Simeon, Joshua gave (these) cities;
10 to the sons of Aaron, by the families of Kohath, of the kin of Levi (to the sons of Aaron, who were of the Kohathite families of the Levites), of the which cities these be the names; for the first lot went out to them;
11 Kiriatharba, of the father of Anak, which is called Hebron, in the hill of Judah, and the suburbs thereof by compass; (Kiriatharba, that is, the City of Arba, who was the father of the Anak, that is, the Anakim, in the hill country of Judah, which is now called Hebron, and the suburbs around it;)
12 soothly he gave the fields and towns thereof to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to have in possession. (and he gave its fields and towns to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, to have for a possession.)
13 Therefore Joshua gave to the sons of Aaron, the priest, Hebron, to be a city of refuge, and the suburbs thereof, and Libnah with his suburbs (and Libnah with its suburbs),
14 and Jattir, and Eshtemoa,
15 and Holon, and Debir,
16 and Ain, and Juttah, and Bethshemesh, with their suburbs; nine cities, of [the] two lineages, as it is said (nine cities, from these two tribes).
17 And (out) of the lineage of the sons of Benjamin, he gave Gibeon, and Geba,
18 and Anathoth, and Almon, with their suburbs; four cities.
19 All the cities together of the sons of Aaron, the priest, were thirteen, with their suburbs. (All the cities given to the sons of Aaron, the priest, were thirteen cities, with their suburbs.)
20 But to the others, by the families of the sons of Kohath, of the kin of Levi, this possession was given; (out) of the lineage of Ephraim, (And to the rest of the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the lower degree, these possessions were given; from the tribe of Ephraim,)
21 the city of refuge, Shechem, with his suburbs, in the hill of Ephraim, and Gezer, (Shechem, the city of refuge, with its suburbs, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer,)
22 and Kibzaim, and Bethhoron, with their suburbs; four cities;
23 also (out) of the lineage of Dan, Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, (and from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh, and Gibbethon,)
24 and Aijalon, and Gathrimmon, with their suburbs; four cities;
25 soothly of the half lineage of Manasseh (and from the western half of the tribe of Manasseh), Taanach and Gathrimmon, with their suburbs; two cities.
26 All the cities were ten, and their suburbs, that were given to the sons of Kohath, of the lower degree. (So all the cities that were given to the rest of the Kohathite families, that is, to the Levites of the lower degree, were ten cities, with their suburbs.)
27 Also to the sons of Gershon, of the kin of Levi, Joshua gave (out) of the half lineage of Manasseh, cities of refuge, Golan in Bashan, and Beeshterah, with their suburbs; two cities. (And to the Gershonites, of the Levites, from the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua gave a city of refuge, Golan in Bashan, and Beeshterah, with their suburbs; two cities.)
28 And (out) of the lineage of Issachar, he gave Kishon, and Dabereh,
29 and Jarmuth, and Engannim, with their suburbs; four cities.
30 (And out) Of the lineage of Asher, he gave Mishal, and Abdon,
31 and Helkath, and Rehob, with their suburbs; four cities.
32 Also (out) of the lineage of Naphtali (And from the tribe of Naphtali), he gave the city of refuge, Kedesh in Galilee, and Hammothdor, and Kartan, with their suburbs; three cities.
33 All the cities of the families of Gershon were thirteen, with their suburbs. (So all the cities given to the Gershonite families were thirteen cities, with their suburbs.)
34 Soothly to the sons of Merari, deacons of the lower degree, by their families, was given Jokneam, (out) of the lineage of Zebulun, and Kartah, (And to the Merarites, Levites of the lower degree, by their families, from the tribe of Zebulun, he gave Jokneam, and Kartah,)
35 and Dimnah, and Nahalal; four cities, with their suburbs.
36 And (out) of the lineage of Gad, he gave the city of refuge, Ramoth in Gilead, and Mahanaim,
37 and Heshbon, and Jazer; four cities, with their suburbs.
38 And (out) of the lineage of Reuben, beyond (the) Jordan, against Jericho (And from the tribe of Reuben, on the eastern side of the Jordan River, near Jericho), he gave the city of refuge, Bezer in the wilderness of Mizar, and Jahazah,
39 and Kedemoth, and Mephaath; four cities, with their suburbs.
40 (So) All the cities given to the sons of Merari, by their families and kindreds, were twelve (cities).
41 And so all the cities of (the) Levites, in the midst of [the] possession(s) of the sons of Israel, were eight and forty (cities), with their suburbs;
42 and all (these) cities were parted by families. (and all these cities were divided up among the families.)
43 And the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore himself to give to their fathers, and they had it in possession, and dwelled therein (and lived there).
44 And peace was given of the Lord into all nations about; and none of (their) enemies were hardy to withstand the sons of Israel, but all men were driven into their lordship. (And the Lord gave them peace with all the nations about; and none of their enemies was fool-hardy enough to stand against the Israelites, indeed, the Lord brought all these people under their rule.)
45 Forsooth neither one word, that he promised himself to give to Israel, was void, but all his words were fulfilled in works. (And so not one thing that the Lord had promised to give Israel was left void, or undone, but rather, all of his words were fulfilled with deeds.)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
2001 by Terence P. Noble