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Joshua 18
English Standard Version
Joshua 18
English Standard Version
Allotment of the Remaining Land
18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at (A)Shiloh and set up (B)the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.
2 There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, (C)“How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? 4 Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions. (D)Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, (E)and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. 6 And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. (F)And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 (G)The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. (H)And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”
8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua (I)cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, (J)to each his portion.
The Inheritance for Benjamin
11 The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. 12 (K)On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. (L)Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of (M)Beth-aven. 13 From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of (N)Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to (O)Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower (P)Beth-horon. 14 Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the (Q)western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal ((R)that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. 15 And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,[a] (S)to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks (T)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of (U)Rephaim. And it then goes down the (V)Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to (W)En-rogel. 17 Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to (X)the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 18 and passing on to the north of (Y)the shoulder of Beth-arabah[b] it goes down to (Z)the Arabah. 19 Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of (AA)Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of (AB)the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20 The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were (AC)Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, (AD)Jebus[c] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah[d] and Kiriath-jearim[e]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.
Footnotes
- Joshua 18:15 See 15:9; Hebrew westward
- Joshua 18:18 Septuagint; Hebrew to the shoulder over against the Arabah
- Joshua 18:28 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew the Jebusite
- Joshua 18:28 Hebrew Gibeath
- Joshua 18:28 Septuagint; Hebrew Kiriath
Joshua 18
Good News Translation
Joshua 18
Good News Translation
The Division of the Rest of the Land
18 After they had conquered the land, the entire community of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of the Lord's presence. 2 There were still seven tribes of the people of Israel who had not yet been assigned their share of the land. 3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long are you going to wait before you go in and take the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4 Let me have three men from each tribe. I will send them out over the whole country to map out the territory that they would like to have as their possession. Then they are to come back to me. 5 The land will be divided among them in seven parts; Judah will stay in its territory in the south, and Joseph in its territory in the north. 6 Write down a description of these seven divisions and bring it to me. Then I will draw lots[a] to consult the Lord our God for you. 7 The Levites, however, will not receive a share of the land with the rest of you, because their share is to serve as the Lord's priests. And of course, the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh have already received their land east of the Jordan, which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave to them.”
8 The men went on their way to map out the land after Joshua had given them these instructions: “Go all over the land and map it out, and come back to me. And then here in Shiloh I will consult the Lord for you by drawing lots.” 9 So the men went all over the land and set down in writing how they divided it into seven parts, making a list of the towns. Then they went back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua drew lots to consult the Lord for them, and assigned each of the remaining tribes of Israel a certain part of the land.
The Territory Assigned to Benjamin
11 The territory belonging to the families of the tribe of Benjamin was the first to be assigned. Their land lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph. 12 On the north their border began at the Jordan and then went up the slope north of Jericho and westward through the hill country as far as the desert of Bethaven. 13 The border then went to the slope on the south side of Luz (also called Bethel), then down to Ataroth Addar, on the mountain south of Lower Beth Horon. 14 The border then went in another direction, turning south from the western side of this mountain and going to Kiriath Baal (or Kiriath Jearim), which belongs to the tribe of Judah. This was the western border. 15 The southern border started on the edge of Kiriath Jearim and went[b] to the Springs of Nephtoah. 16 It then went down to the foot of the mountain that overlooks Hinnom Valley, at the north end of Rephaim Valley. It then went south through Hinnom Valley, south of the Jebusite ridge, toward Enrogel. 17 It then turned north to Enshemesh and then on to Geliloth, opposite Adummim Pass. The border then went down to the Stone of Bohan (Bohan was a son of Reuben) 18 and passed north of the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley. It then went down into the valley, 19 passing north of the ridge of Beth Hoglah, and ended at the northern inlet on the Dead Sea, where the Jordan River empties into it. This was the southern border. 20 The Jordan was the eastern border. These were the borders of the land which the families of the tribe of Benjamin received as their possession.
21 The cities belonging to the families of the tribe of Benjamin were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chepharammoni, Ophni, and Geba: twelve cities, along with the towns around them. 25 There were also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (or Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath Jearim: fourteen cities, along with the towns around them. This is the land which the families of the tribe of Benjamin received as their possession.
Footnotes
- Joshua 18:6 See 14.2.
- Joshua 18:15 Probable text and went; Hebrew and went westward.
Joshua 18
New International Version
Joshua 18
New International Version
Division of the Rest of the Land
18 The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh(A) and set up the tent of meeting(B) there. The country was brought under their control, 2 but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.
3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4 Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it,(C) according to the inheritance of each.(D) Then they will return to me. 5 You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south(E) and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north.(F) 6 After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots(G) for you in the presence of the Lord our God. 7 The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance.(H) And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them.(I)”
8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it.(J) Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh(K) in the presence of the Lord.” 9 So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua then cast lots(L) for them in Shiloh in the presence(M) of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.(N)
Allotment for Benjamin
11 The first lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the wilderness(O) of Beth Aven.(P) 13 From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz(Q) (that is, Bethel(R)) and went down to Ataroth Addar(S) on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.
14 From the hill facing Beth Horon(T) on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim),(U) a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.
15 The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.(V) 16 The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim.(W) It continued down the Hinnom Valley(X) along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.(Y) 17 It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth,(Z) which faces the Pass of Adummim,(AA) and ran down to the Stone of Bohan(AB) son of Reuben. 18 It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah[a](AC) and on down into the Arabah.(AD) 19 It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah(AE) and came out at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,(AF) at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.
20 The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.
These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.(AG)
21 The tribe of Benjamin, according to its clans, had the following towns:
Jericho, Beth Hoglah,(AH) Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah,(AI) Zemaraim,(AJ) Bethel,(AK) 23 Avvim,(AL) Parah, Ophrah,(AM) 24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba(AN)—twelve towns and their villages.
25 Gibeon,(AO) Ramah,(AP) Beeroth,(AQ) 26 Mizpah,(AR) Kephirah,(AS) Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah,(AT) Haeleph, the Jebusite city(AU) (that is, Jerusalem(AV)), Gibeah(AW) and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages.(AX)
This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.(AY)
Footnotes
- Joshua 18:18 Septuagint; Hebrew slope facing the Arabah
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.