Joshua 20-22  New American Standard Bible

Six Cities of Refuge

20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^[a]Designate ^(A)the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you ^[b]through Moses, ³ so that one who commits manslaughter by ^[c]killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the ^(B)gate of the city, and state his case in the ^[d]presence of the elders of that city; and they shall ^[e]receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them. ⁵ Now ^(C)if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously. ⁶ And he shall remain in that city ^(D)until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then ^[f]he shall ^[g]return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”

⁷ So they ^[h]set apart ^(E)Kedesh in ^[i]Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in ^(F)the hill country of Judah. ⁸ And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they ^[j]designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. ^9 (G)These were the designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever ^[k]kills a person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

Forty-eight Cities of the Levites

21 Then the heads of fathers’ households of ^(H)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, “^(I)The Lord commanded ^[l]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 ^[m]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 ^(J)sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded ^[n]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 ^(K)they gave them Kiriath-arba (Arba being the ^(L)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 ^(M)to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave ^(N)Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(O)Libnah with its pasture lands, ^14 (P)Jattir with its pasture lands, ^(Q)Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ^15 [o]Holon with its pasture lands, ^(R)Debir with its pasture lands, ^16 [p]Ain with its pasture lands, ^(S)Juttah with its pasture lands, and ^(T)Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin, ^(U)Gibeon with its pasture lands, ^(V)Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands, and ^[q]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 ^(W)families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, that is, to the rest of the sons of Kohath. ²¹ They gave them ^(X)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 ^(Y)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 ^(Z)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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)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 ^(AC)Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(AD)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 (AE)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 ^[r]their surrounding pasture lands; this is how it was with all these cities.

^43 (AF)So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and ^(AG)they took possession of it and lived in it. ⁴⁴ And the Lord ^(AH)gave them rest on every side, in accordance with everything that He had sworn to their fathers, and ^(AI)no one of all their enemies stood before them; ^(AJ)the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. ^45 (AK)Not ^[s]one of the good promises which the Lord had ^[t]made to the house of Israel failed; everything came to pass.

Tribes beyond Jordan Return

22 ^(AL)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, ^(AM)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 ^(AN)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 ^[u]follow the commandment and the Law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to ^(AO)love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways, and keep His commandments and cling to Him, and serve Him ^(AP)with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua ^(AQ)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now ^(AR)to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but ^(AS)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 ^[v]them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very many livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; ^(AT)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, ^[w]leaving the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the ^(AU)land of Gilead, to the land of their possession in which they had settled, in accordance with the ^[x]command of the Lord ^[y]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, ^[z]a large altar in appearance. ¹¹ But the sons of Israel ^[aa]heard a report: “Behold, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have ^(AV)built an altar at the ^[ab]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 ^(AW)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, ^(AX)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 ^(AY)each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the ^[ac]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 ^(AZ)building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day? ¹⁷ Is ^(BA)the wrongdoing of Peor ^[ad]not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although ^[ae]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, ^(BB)He will be angry with the entire congregation of Israel tomorrow. ¹⁹ If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then ^[af]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s ^[ag]tabernacle ^[ah]stands, and settle among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us, by ^(BC)building an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Did ^(BD)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 ^[ai]families of Israel. ²² “The ^(BE)Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! ^(BF)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 ^(BG)offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself ^[aj]demand it. ²⁴ But truly we have done this out of concern, ^[ak]for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our ^[al]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 ^[am]build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; ²⁷ rather, it shall be ^(BH)a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to ^(BI)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 ^(BJ)building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His ^[an]tabernacle.”

³⁰ So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, that is, the heads of the ^[ao]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 ^(BK)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 ^(BL)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 ^(BM)called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”