Joshua 21
New King James Version
Cities of the Levites(A)
21 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the (B)Levites came near to (C)Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2 And they spoke to them at (D)Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, (E)“The Lord commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for our livestock.” 3 So the children of Israel gave to the Levites from their inheritance, at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their common-lands:
4 Now the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And (F)the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, (G)had thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Simeon, and from the tribe of Benjamin. 5 (H)The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 And (I)the children of Gershon had thirteen cities 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 (J)The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun.
8 (K)And the children of Israel gave these cities with their common-lands by lot to the Levites, (L)as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
9 So they gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon these cities which are [a]designated by name, 10 which were for the children of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for the lot was theirs first. 11 (M)And they gave them [b]Kirjath Arba (Arba was the father of (N)Anak), (O)which is Hebron, in the mountains of Judah, with the common-land surrounding it. 12 But (P)the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 Thus (Q)to the children of Aaron the priest they gave (R)Hebron with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), (S)Libnah with its common-land, 14 (T)Jattir with its common-land, (U)Eshtemoa with its common-land, 15 (V)Holon with its common-land, (W)Debir with its common-land, 16 (X)Ain with its common-land, (Y)Juttah with its common-land, and (Z)Beth Shemesh with its common-land: nine cities from those two tribes; 17 and from the tribe of Benjamin, (AA)Gibeon with its common-land, (AB)Geba with its common-land, 18 Anathoth with its common-land, and (AC)Almon with its common-land: four cities. 19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their common-lands.
20 (AD)And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, the rest of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their [c]lot from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 For they gave them (AE)Shechem with its common-land in the mountains of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the slayer), (AF)Gezer with its common-land, 22 Kibzaim with its common-land, and Beth Horon with its common-land: four cities; 23 and from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its common-land, Gibbethon with its common-land, 24 (AG)Aijalon with its common-land, and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: four cities; 25 and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with its common-land and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: two cities. 26 All the ten cities with their common-lands were for the rest of the families of the children of Kohath.
27 (AH)Also to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, from the other half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave (AI)Golan in Bashan with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), and Be Eshterah with its common-land: two cities; 28 and from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its common-land, Daberath with its common-land, 29 Jarmuth with its common-land, and En Gannim with its common-land: four cities; 30 and from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its common-land, Abdon with its common-land, 31 Helkath with its common-land, and Rehob with its common-land: four cities; 32 and from the tribe of Naphtali, (AJ)Kedesh in Galilee with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Hammoth Dor with its common-land, and Kartan with its common-land: three cities. 33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their common-lands.
34 (AK)And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land, 35 Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities; 36 [d]and from the tribe of Reuben, (AL)Bezer with its common-land, Jahaz with its common-land, 37 Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land: four cities; 38 and from the tribe of Gad, (AM)Ramoth in Gilead with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Mahanaim with its common-land, 39 Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all. 40 So all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.
41 (AN)All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands. 42 Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities.
The Promise Fulfilled
43 So the Lord gave to Israel (AO)all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they (AP)took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 (AQ)The Lord gave them (AR)rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And (AS)not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 (AT)Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Footnotes
- Joshua 21:9 Lit. called
- Joshua 21:11 Lit. City of Arba
- Joshua 21:20 allotment
- Joshua 21:36 So with LXX, Vg. (cf. 1 Chr. 6:78, 79); MT, Bg., Tg. omit vv. 36, 37
Josué 21
La Bible du Semeur
Le tirage au sort de l’ordre d’attribution de villes aux lévites
21 Les chefs de groupe familial des lévites vinrent trouver le prêtre Eléazar, Josué, fils de Noun, et les chefs de groupe familial des autres tribus d’Israël 2 à Silo, dans le pays de Canaan. Ils leur dirent : L’Eternel a ordonné par l’intermédiaire de Moïse de nous donner des villes pour que nous y habitions, avec leurs terres attenantes pour que nous y fassions paître notre bétail.
3 Les Israélites prélevèrent donc sur leur patrimoine un certain nombre de villes avec leurs terres attenantes pour les donner aux lévites, conformément à l’ordre de l’Eternel[a].
4 Le tirage au sort désigna en premier lieu les familles des Qehatites[b]. Parmi eux, les lévites qui descendaient du prêtre Aaron reçurent par tirage au sort treize villes situées dans les territoires de Juda, de Siméon et de Benjamin. 5 Les autres Qehatites obtinrent par tirage au sort dix villes dans les territoires des familles de la tribu d’Ephraïm, de la tribu de Dan et de la demi-tribu de Manassé. 6 Les Guershonites obtinrent par tirage au sort treize villes dans les territoires des familles des tribus d’Issacar, d’Aser, de Nephtali et de la demi-tribu de Manassé établie dans le Basan. 7 Les Merarites reçurent pour leurs familles douze villes situées dans les territoires des tribus de Ruben, de Gad et de Zabulon. 8 Les Israélites attribuèrent ces villes et leurs terres attenantes par le sort aux lévites, comme l’Eternel l’avait ordonné par l’intermédiaire de Moïse.
Les villes des descendants d’Aaron
9 Ils attribuèrent les villes suivantes désignées par leur nom et situées dans le territoire des tribus de Juda et de Siméon 10 aux descendants d’Aaron appartenant aux familles des Qehatites, descendants de Lévi, auxquels fut attribué par le sort le premier lot : 11 Qiryath-Arba, c’est-à-dire la ville d’Arba, l’ancêtre d’Anaq, appelée Hébron. Cette ville est située dans la région montagneuse de Juda et fut donnée avec ses terres attenantes, 12 mais les champs et les villages qui dépendaient de la ville furent donnés à Caleb, fils de Yephounné. 13 On donna aux descendants du prêtre Aaron les villes suivantes, avec leurs terres attenantes : Hébron, la ville de refuge pour les meurtriers, Libna, 14 Yattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holôn, Debir, 16 Aïn[c], Youtta et Beth-Shémesh ; soit neuf villes avec leurs terres attenantes situées dans le territoire des tribus de Juda et de Siméon. 17 Dans le territoire de la tribu de Benjamin, ils reçurent avec leurs terres attenantes : Gabaon, Guéba, 18 Anatoth, Almôn, soit quatre villes. 19 Au total treize villes et leurs terres attenantes pour les descendants du prêtre Aaron.
Les villes des Qehatites
20 Les autres lévites, appartenant aux familles des Qehatites[d], obtinrent par tirage au sort des villes dans le territoire de la tribu d’Ephraïm 21 avec leurs terres attenantes : Sichem, la ville de refuge, dans la région montagneuse d’Ephraïm, Guézer, 22 Qibtsaïm, Beth-Horôn, soit quatre villes. 23 Dans le territoire de la tribu de Dan, ils eurent, avec leurs terres attenantes : Elteqé, Guibbetôn, 24 Ayalôn, Gath-Rimmôn, soit quatre villes. 25 Dans le territoire de la demi-tribu de Manassé, ils reçurent, avec leurs terres attenantes : Taanak, Gath-Rimmôn[e], soit deux villes. 26 Les autres familles des descendants de Qehath reçurent donc en tout dix villes avec leurs terres attenantes.
Les villes des descendants de Guershôn
27 Les familles de lévites issus de Guershôn reçurent, dans le territoire de la demi-tribu de Manassé, les villes suivantes avec leurs terres attenantes : Golân, la ville de refuge, dans le Basan, et Beéshtra, soit deux villes. 28 Dans le territoire de la tribu d’Issacar, ils reçurent, avec leurs terres attenantes : Qishyôn, Dobrath, 29 Yarmouth, Eyn-Gannim, soit quatre villes. 30 Dans le territoire de la tribu d’Aser, avec les terres attenantes : Misheal, Abdôn, 31 Helqath, Rehob, soit quatre villes. 32 Et dans le territoire de la tribu de Nephtali : Qédesh en Galilée, la ville de refuge, Hammoth-Dor et les terres attenantes, Qartân et les terres attenantes, soit trois villes. 33 Les familles guershonites reçurent donc en tout treize villes avec leurs terres attenantes.
Les villes des descendants de Merari
34 Les familles des descendants de Merari reçurent, dans le territoire de la tribu de Zabulon, les villes suivantes avec leurs terres attenantes : Yoqneam, Qarta, 35 Dimna, Nahalal, soit quatre villes. 36 En Transjordanie, dans le territoire de la tribu de Ruben, ils reçurent avec leurs terres attenantes : Bétser, la ville de refuge, Yahats[f], 37 Qedémoth, Méphaath, soit quatre villes. 38 Et dans le territoire de la tribu de Gad, avec leurs terres attenantes : Ramoth en Galaad, la ville de refuge, Mahanaïm, 39 Heshbôn, Yaezer, soit quatre villes. 40 Les descendants de Merari reçurent donc en tout par tirage au sort pour leurs familles, appartenant aux familles des lévites, douze villes.
41 Au total les lévites reçurent quarante-huit villes avec les terres attenantes dans les territoires des autres Israélites. 42 Chacune de ces villes comprenait des terres attenantes servant de pâturages.
Dieu tient ses promesses
43 L’Eternel donna aux Israélites tout le pays qu’il avait promis par serment à leurs ancêtres. Ils en prirent possession et s’y établirent. 44 L’Eternel leur accorda de vivre sans être inquiétés par aucun ennemi autour d’eux, comme il l’avait promis par serment à leurs ancêtres ; il leur donna la victoire sur tous leurs ennemis, aucun d’eux ne put leur résister. 45 Ainsi toutes les promesses de bienfaits que l’Eternel avait données au peuple d’Israël s’accomplirent : aucune d’elles ne resta sans effet.
Footnotes
- 21.3 Voir Nb 35.1-8.
- 21.4 Voir Ex 6.16-25 ; Nb 3.17-19, 27-32.
- 21.16 Au lieu d’Aïn, l’ancienne version grecque a : Achan.
- 21.20 Qui n’étaient pas prêtres puisqu’ils ne descendaient pas d’Aaron.
- 21.25 Au lieu de Gath-Rimmôn, déjà mentionnée au v. 24, l’ancienne version grecque a : Ibléam.
- 21.36 Les v. 36 et 37 manquent dans les manuscrits hébreux les plus anciens mais ils se trouvent dans l’ancienne version grecque et la Vulgate, et ils ont leur parallèle en 1 Ch 6.62-66.
Joshua 21
New International Version
Towns for the Levites(A)
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(B) 2 at Shiloh(C) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns(D) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”(E) 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,(F) 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.(G) 5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.(H)
6 The descendants of Gershon(I) were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar,(J) Asher,(K) Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The descendants of Merari,(L) according to their clans, received twelve(M) towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.(N)
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(O) (that is, Hebron(P)), 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.(Q)
13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge(R) for one accused of murder), Libnah,(S) 14 Jattir,(T) Eshtemoa,(U) 15 Holon,(V) Debir,(W) 16 Ain,(X) Juttah(Y) and Beth Shemesh,(Z) together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.
17 And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon,(AA) Geba,(AB) 18 Anathoth(AC) and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.
19 The total number of towns(AD) for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.(AE)
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(AF) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,(AG) 22 Kibzaim and Beth Horon,(AH) together with their pasturelands—four towns.(AI)
23 Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,(AJ) 24 Aijalon(AK) and Gath Rimmon,(AL) together with their pasturelands—four towns.
25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach(AM) 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.(AN)
27 The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:
from the half-tribe of Manasseh,
Golan in Bashan(AO) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder(AP)) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;
28 from the tribe of Issachar,(AQ)
Kishion,(AR) Daberath,(AS) 29 Jarmuth(AT) and En Gannim,(AU) together with their pasturelands—four towns;
30 from the tribe of Asher,(AV)
32 from the tribe of Naphtali,
Kedesh(AZ) in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder(BA)), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.
33 The total number of towns of the Gershonite(BB) clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
34 The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:
from the tribe of Zebulun,(BC)
Jokneam,(BD) Kartah, 35 Dimnah and Nahalal,(BE) together with their pasturelands—four towns;
36 from the tribe of Reuben,
38 from the tribe of Gad,
Ramoth(BI) in Gilead(BJ) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,(BK) 39 Heshbon and Jazer,(BL) 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.(BM)
41 The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.(BN) 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,(BO) and they took possession(BP) of it and settled there.(BQ) 44 The Lord gave them rest(BR) on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies(BS) withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies(BT) into their hands.(BU) 45 Not one of all the Lord’s good promises(BV) to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
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