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Joshua 20-21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Joshua 20-21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Cities of Refuge
20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, 2 “Tell the Israelites: Select your cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,(A) 3 so that a person who kills someone unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.(B) 4 When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before[a] the elders of that city, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.(C) 5 And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, for he killed his neighbor accidentally and did not hate him beforehand. 6 He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time.(D) Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to his own city from which he fled.”
7 So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee,(E) Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.(F) 8 Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer on the wilderness plateau from Reuben’s tribe, Ramoth in Gilead from Gad’s tribe, and Golan in Bashan from Manasseh’s tribe.
9 These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them,(G) so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the assembly.
Cities of the Levites
21 The heads of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. 2 At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”(H) 3 So the Israelites, by the Lord’s command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.
4 The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of Aaron the priest received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The remaining descendants of Kohath[b] received 10 cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
6 Gershon’s descendants received 13 cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 Merari’s descendants received 12 cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Cities of Aaron’s Descendants
9 The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon 10 to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba(I) (that is, Hebron) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah. Arba was the father of Anak. 12 But they gave the fields and villages of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest:
Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands, 14 Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 15 Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 16 Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities from these two tribes.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin they gave:
Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, 18 Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands—four cities. 19 All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
Cities of Kohath’s Other Descendants
20 The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath’s descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 The Israelites gave them:
Shechem,(J) the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities.
23 From the tribe of Dan they gave:
Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, 24 Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities.
25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they gave:
Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon[c] with its pasturelands—two cities.
26 All 10 cities with their pasturelands were for the clans of Kohath’s other descendants.
Cities of Gershon’s Descendants
27 From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon,(K) who were one of the Levite clans:
Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities.
28 From the tribe of Issachar they gave:
Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities.
30 From the tribe of Asher they gave:
Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 31 Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali they gave:
Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities.
33 All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the Gershonites by their clans.
Cities of Merari’s Descendants
34 From the tribe of Zebulun, they gave to the clans of the descendants of Merari,(L) who were the remaining Levites:
Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, 35 Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities.
36 From the tribe of Reuben they gave:
Bezer(M) with its pasturelands, Jahzah[d] with its pasturelands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities.[e]
38 From the tribe of Gad they gave:
Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 39 Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. 40 All 12 cities were allotted to the clans of Merari’s descendants, the remaining Levite clans.
41 Within the Israelite possession there were 48 cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.(N) 42 Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
The Lord’s Promises Fulfilled
43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them. 45 None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.(O)
Footnotes
- Joshua 20:4 Lit in the ears of
- Joshua 21:5 Descendants not in Aaron’s priestly line
- Joshua 21:25 Or Ibleam
- Joshua 21:36 Or Jahaz
- Joshua 21:37 Some Hb mss omit these vv.
Joshua 20-21
New International Version
Joshua 20-21
New International Version
Cities of Refuge(A)
20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally(B) may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.(C) 4 When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate(D) and state their case before the elders(E) of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. 5 If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. 6 They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly(F) and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”
7 So they set apart Kedesh(G) in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem(H) in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba(I) (that is, Hebron(J)) in the hill country of Judah.(K) 8 East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer(L) in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead(M) in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan(N) in the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally(O) could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.(P)
Towns for the Levites(Q)
21 Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel(R) 2 at Shiloh(S) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns(T) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”(U) 3 So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
4 The first lot came out for the Kohathites,(V) according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.(W) 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.(X)
6 The descendants of Gershon(Y) were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar,(Z) Asher,(AA) Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The descendants of Merari,(AB) according to their clans, received twelve(AC) towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.(AD)
8 So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
9 From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name 10 (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):
11 They gave them Kiriath Arba(AE) (that is, Hebron(AF)), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 12 But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.(AG)
13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge(AH) for one accused of murder), Libnah,(AI) 14 Jattir,(AJ) Eshtemoa,(AK) 15 Holon,(AL) Debir,(AM) 16 Ain,(AN) Juttah(AO) and Beth Shemesh,(AP) together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.
17 And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon,(AQ) Geba,(AR) 18 Anathoth(AS) and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.
19 The total number of towns(AT) for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.(AU)
20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:
21 In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem(AV) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,(AW) 22 Kibzaim and Beth Horon,(AX) together with their pasturelands—four towns.(AY)
23 Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,(AZ) 24 Aijalon(BA) and Gath Rimmon,(BB) together with their pasturelands—four towns.
25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach(BC) and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns.
26 All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.(BD)
27 The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:
from the half-tribe of Manasseh,
Golan in Bashan(BE) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder(BF)) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;
28 from the tribe of Issachar,(BG)
Kishion,(BH) Daberath,(BI) 29 Jarmuth(BJ) and En Gannim,(BK) together with their pasturelands—four towns;
30 from the tribe of Asher,(BL)
32 from the tribe of Naphtali,
Kedesh(BP) in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder(BQ)), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.
33 The total number of towns of the Gershonite(BR) clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
34 The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:
from the tribe of Zebulun,(BS)
Jokneam,(BT) Kartah, 35 Dimnah and Nahalal,(BU) together with their pasturelands—four towns;
36 from the tribe of Reuben,
38 from the tribe of Gad,
Ramoth(BY) in Gilead(BZ) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,(CA) 39 Heshbon and Jazer,(CB) together with their pasturelands—four towns in all.
40 The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.(CC)
41 The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.(CD) 42 Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.
43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors,(CE) and they took possession(CF) of it and settled there.(CG) 44 The Lord gave them rest(CH) on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies(CI) withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies(CJ) into their hands.(CK) 45 Not one of all the Lord’s good promises(CL) to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
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