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.
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
Louis Segond
21 Les chefs de famille des Lévites s'approchèrent du sacrificateur Éléazar, de Josué, fils de Nun, et des chefs de famille des tribus des enfants d'Israël.
2 Ils leur parlèrent à Silo, dans le pays de Canaan, et dirent: L'Éternel a ordonné par Moïse qu'on nous donnât des villes pour habitation, et leurs banlieues pour notre bétail.
3 Les enfants d'Israël donnèrent alors aux Lévites, sur leur héritage, les villes suivantes et leurs banlieues, d'après l'ordre de l'Éternel.
4 On tira le sort pour les familles des Kehathites; et les Lévites, fils du sacrificateur Aaron, eurent par le sort treize villes de la tribu de Juda, de la tribu de Siméon et de la tribu de Benjamin;
5 les autres fils de Kehath eurent par le sort dix villes des familles de la tribu d'Éphraïm, de la tribu de Dan et de la demi-tribu de Manassé.
6 Les fils de Guerschon eurent par le sort treize villes des familles de la tribu d'Issacar, de la tribu d'Aser, de la tribu de Nephthali et de la demi-tribu de Manassé en Basan.
7 Les fils de Merari, selon leurs familles, eurent douze villes de la tribu de Ruben, de la tribu de Gad et de la tribu de Zabulon.
8 Les enfants d'Israël donnèrent aux Lévites, par le sort, ces villes et leurs banlieues, comme l'Éternel l'avait ordonné par Moïse.
9 Ils donnèrent de la tribu des fils de Juda et de la tribu des fils de Siméon les villes qui vont être nominativement désignées,
10 et qui furent pour les fils d'Aaron d'entre les familles des Kehathites et des fils de Lévi, car le sort les avait indiqués les premiers.
11 Ils leur donnèrent Kirjath Arba, qui est Hébron, dans la montagne de Juda, et la banlieue qui l'entoure: Arba était le père d'Anak.
12 Le territoire de la ville et ses villages furent accordés à Caleb, fils de Jephunné, pour sa possession.
13 Ils donnèrent donc aux fils du sacrificateur Aaron la ville de refuge pour les meurtriers, Hébron et sa banlieue, Libna et sa banlieue,
14 Jatthir et sa banlieue, Eschthlemoa et sa banlieue,
15 Holon et sa banlieue, Debir et sa banlieue,
16 Aïn et sa banlieue, Jutta et sa banlieue, et Beth Schémesch et sa banlieue, neuf villes de ces deux tribus;
17 et de la tribu de Benjamin, Gabaon et sa banlieue, Guéba et sa banlieue,
18 Anathoth et sa banlieue, et Almon et sa banlieue, quatre villes.
19 Total des villes des sacrificateurs, fils d'Aaron: treize villes, et leurs banlieues.
20 Les Lévites appartenant aux familles des autres fils de Kehath eurent par le sort des villes de la tribu d'Éphraïm.
21 On leur donna la ville de refuge pour les meurtriers, Sichem et sa banlieue, dans la montagne d'Éphraïm, Guézer et sa banlieue,
22 Kibtsaïm et sa banlieue, et Beth Horon et sa banlieue, quatre villes;
23 de la tribu de Dan, Eltheké et sa banlieue, Guibbethon et sa banlieue,
24 Ajalon et sa banlieue, et Gath Rimmon et sa banlieue, quatre villes;
25 et de la demi-tribu de Manassé, Thaanac et sa banlieue, et Gath Rimmon et sa banlieue, deux villes.
26 Total des villes: dix, et leurs banlieues, pour les familles des autres fils de Kehath.
27 On donna aux fils de Guerschon, d'entre les familles des Lévites: de la demi-tribu de Manassé, la ville de refuge pour les meurtriers, Golan en Basan et sa banlieue, et Beeschthra et sa banlieue, deux villes;
28 de la tribu d'Issacar, Kischjon et sa banlieue, Dabrath et sa banlieue,
29 Jarmuth et sa banlieue, et En Gannim et sa banlieue, quatre villes;
30 de la tribu d'Aser, Mischeal et sa banlieue, Abdon et sa banlieue,
31 Helkath et sa banlieue, et Rehob et sa banlieue, quatre villes;
32 et de la tribu de Nephthali, la ville de refuge pour les meurtriers, Kédesch en Galilée et sa banlieue, Hammoth Dor et sa banlieue, et Karthan et sa banlieue, trois villes.
33 Total des villes des Guerschonites, selon leurs familles: treize villes et leurs banlieues.
34 On donna au reste des Lévites, qui appartenaient aux familles des fils de Merari: de la tribu de Zabulon, Jokneam et sa banlieue, Kartha et sa banlieue,
35 Dimna et sa banlieue, et Nahalal et sa banlieue, quatre villes;
36 de la tribu de Ruben, Betser et sa banlieue, Jahtsa et sa banlieue,
37 Kedémoth et sa banlieue, et Méphaath et sa banlieue, quatre villes;
38 et de la tribu de Gad, la ville de refuge pour les meurtriers, Ramoth en Galaad et sa banlieue, Mahanaïm et sa banlieue,
39 Hesbon et sa banlieue, et Jaezer et sa banlieue, en tout quatre villes.
40 Total des villes qui échurent par le sort aux fils de Merari, selon leurs familles, formant le reste des familles des Lévites: douze villes.
41 Total des villes des Lévites au milieu des propriétés des enfants d'Israël: quarante-huit villes, et leurs banlieues.
42 Chacune de ces villes avait sa banlieue qui l'entourait; il en était de même pour toutes ces villes.
43 C'est ainsi que l'Éternel donna à Israël tout le pays qu'il avait juré de donner à leurs pères; ils en prirent possession et s'y établirent.
44 L'Éternel leur accorda du repos tout alentour, comme il l'avait juré à leurs pères; aucun de leurs ennemis ne put leur résister, et l'Éternel les livra tous entre leurs mains.
45 De toutes les bonnes paroles que l'Éternel avait dites à la maison d'Israël, aucune ne resta sans effet: toutes s'accomplirent.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
