Joshua 21
Easy-to-Read Version
Towns for Priests and Levites
21 The family rulers of the Levite tribe went to talk to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the rulers of the other tribes of Israel. 2 At Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the Levite rulers said to them, “The Lord gave Moses a command. He commanded that you give us towns to live in and that you give us fields where our animals can eat.” 3 So the Israelites obeyed this command from the Lord and gave the Levites these towns and the land around them for their animals:
4 The Kohath family groups were descendants of Aaron the priest from the tribe of Levi. Part of the Kohath family was given 13 towns in the areas that belonged to Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
5 The other Kohath families were given ten towns in the areas that belonged to Ephraim, Dan, and half of Manasseh.
6 The people from the Gershon family were given 13 towns. These towns were in the areas that belonged to Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half of Manasseh that was in Bashan.
7 The people from the Merari family were given 12 towns. These towns came from the areas that belonged to Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the fields around them, just as the Lord had told Moses.
9 These are the names of the towns that were in the areas that belonged to Judah and Simeon. 10 The first choice of towns was given to the Levites from the Kohath family group. 11 They gave them Kiriath Arba. (This is Hebron. It was named for a man named Arba. Arba was the father of Anak.) They also gave them some land near the town for their animals. 12 But the fields and the small towns around the city of Kiriath Arba belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh. 13 So they gave the city of Hebron to Aaron’s descendants. (Hebron was a city of safety.) They also gave Aaron’s descendants the towns of Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh. They also gave them some of the land near these towns for their animals. These two tribes gave them nine towns.
17 They also gave Aaron’s descendants cities that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. These cities were Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon. They gave them these four towns and some of the land near the towns for their animals. 19 In all, they gave 13 towns to the priests. (All priests were descendants of Aaron.) They also gave them some land near each town for their animals.
20 The other people from the Kohathite family groups were given towns that were in the areas that belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. They got these towns: 21 the city of Shechem from the hill country of Ephraim (which was a city of safety), Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon. In all, Ephraim gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals.
23 The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon. In all, Dan gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals.
25 Half the tribe of Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath Rimmon. In all, this half of Manasseh gave them two towns and some land around each town for their animals.
26 In all, the rest of the people from the Kohath family groups got ten towns and some land around each town for their animals.
27 The Gershon family groups were also from the tribe of Levi. They got these towns:
Half the tribe of Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan. (Golan was a city of safety.) Manasseh also gave them Be Eshtarah. In all, this half of Manasseh gave them two towns and some land around each town for their animals.
28 The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim. In all, Issachar gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals.
30 The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob. In all, Asher gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals.
32 The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee. (Kedesh was a city of safety.) Naphtali also gave them Hammoth Dor and Kartan. In all, Naphtali gave them three towns and some land around each town for their animals.
33 In all, the Gershon family groups got 13 towns and some land around each town for their animals.
34-39 The other Levite group was the Merari family group. They were given these towns: The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal. In all, Zebulun gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals. The tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath. In all, Reuben gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals. The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead. (Ramoth was a city of safety.) They also gave them Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer. In all, Gad gave them four towns and some land around each town for their animals.
40 In all, the last family of Levites, the Merari family, got 12 towns.
41 So the Levites were given a total of 48 towns and some land around each town for their animals. All these towns were in areas that belonged to the other tribes. 42 Each of these towns had some land in it for their animals. That was true for every town.
43 So the Lord kept the promise that he had made to the Israelites and gave the people all the land that he had promised. The people took the land and lived there. 44 And the Lord allowed them to have peace on all sides of their land, just as he had promised their ancestors. None of their enemies defeated them. The Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat every enemy. 45 The Lord kept every promise that he made to the Israelites. There were no promises that he failed to keep. Every promise came true.
Joshua 21
English Standard Version
Cities and Pasturelands Allotted to Levi
21 Then the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites came (A)to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. 2 And they said to them (B)at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, (C)“The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.” 3 So by command of the Lord the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasturelands out of their inheritance.
4 The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites. So those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest (D)received by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities.
5 And the rest of the Kohathites received by lot (E)from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
6 The (F)Gershonites received by lot 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 in Bashan, thirteen cities.
7 The (G)Merarites according to their clans received from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
8 These cities and their pasturelands the people of Israel (H)gave by lot to the Levites, (I)as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
9 Out of the tribe of the people of Judah and the tribe of the people of Simeon they gave the following cities mentioned by name, 10 which went to (J)the descendants of Aaron, one of the clans of the Kohathites who belonged to the people of Levi; since the lot fell to them first. 11 (K)They gave them (L)Kiriath-arba (Arba being the father of Anak), that is Hebron, (M)in the hill country of Judah, along with the pasturelands around it. 12 But the fields of the city and its villages had been given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 And to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, (N)the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands, (O)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, Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities out of these two tribes; 17 then out of the tribe of Benjamin, (P)Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, 18 Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands—four cities. 19 The cities of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.
20 (Q)As to the rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Kohathite clans of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21 To them were given Shechem, (R)the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities; 23 and out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, 24 Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities; 25 and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—two cities. 26 The cities of the clans of the rest of the Kohathites were ten in all with their pasturelands.
27 (S)And to the Gershonites, one of the clans of the Levites, were given out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands, (T)the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities; 28 and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasturelands, En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities; 30 and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 31 Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities; 32 and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, (U)the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities. 33 The cities of the several clans of the Gershonites were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.
34 (V)And to the rest of the Levites, the Merarite clans, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, 35 Dimnah with its pasturelands, Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities; 36 and out of the tribe of Reuben, (W)Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities; 38 and out of the tribe of Gad, (X)Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, (Y)Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 39 (Z)Heshbon with its pasturelands, Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. 40 As for the cities of the several Merarite clans, that is, the remainder of the clans of the Levites, those allotted to them were in all twelve cities.
41 (AA)The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. 42 These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities.
43 (AB)Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 (AC)And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. (AD)Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for (AE)the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 (AF)Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
