Joshua 13-21

EasyEnglish Bible

The land that remained for Israel to take

13 Joshua had become a very old man.^[a] The Lord said to him, ‘You are now very old. There is still a lot of land that you have not yet taken. ² This is the land left for you to take: All the land of the Philistines and the Geshurites. ³ Their land goes from the Shihor river on the east side of Egypt, to the border of Ekron's land. That part belongs to the Canaanites. The land of the Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. There is also the land of the Avvites in the south.^{[b] 4} You must take all the land of the Canaanites, which goes from Arah in Sidon region, and continues to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites. ⁵ There is also the land of the Gebalites, and all of Lebanon in the east. That land goes from Baal Gad at the side of Hermon mountain, to Lebo-Hamath.

⁶ I myself will chase out all the people of Sidon in front of the Israelites. I will chase them out of the hill country, from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth Maim. You must give this land to the tribes of Israel, as I have already told you. ⁷ Each of the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, must receive its own part of the land.’^[c]

How Moses had given land to some tribes

⁸ Moses had already given land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the other half of Manasseh. Their land was on the east side of the Jordan River. Moses, the Lord's servant, had given a piece of land to each tribe.

⁹ Their land went from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley and the town in the middle of the valley. It included all the flat land of Medeba, as far as Dibon. ¹⁰ It included all the towns of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. It went to the border of the Amorites' land. ¹¹ It included the land of Gilead, and the land of the Geshurites and Maakathites. It included all of Hermon mountain, and Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² (That was the kingdom of King Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last of the Rephaites.) Moses had won a fight against them and he had taken their land. ¹³ But the Israelites did not chase out the Geshurites and the Maakathites, so they still live there among the Israelites.

¹⁴ Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. This was because God had made the Levites a promise. He had made a rule that they would receive their food from the sacrifices and offerings that the other tribes gave to the Lord God of Israel. The Levites received that, instead of land for themselves.

Land for Reuben's tribe

¹⁵ This is the part of the land that Moses gave to the clans of Reuben's tribe.

¹⁶ He gave them the land from Aroer by the edge of the Arnon valley and the town in the middle of the valley. ¹⁷ And he gave them all the flat land past Medeba in Heshbon. It included Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz and Kedemoth. It also included Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah and Zereth Shahar. Zereth was on a hill in the middle of the valley. ²⁰ Their land included Beth Peor, and the sides of Pisgah mountain, and Beth Jeshimoth town. ²¹ Moses gave them all the towns on the flat land. He gave them all the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites. Sihon had ruled from Hebron. But Moses had won the fight against him and the Midianite kings, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. These kings had ruled with Sihon and they lived in his land. ²² The Israelites had killed the prophet Balaam, son of Beor, when they killed soldiers in the battle.^[d] He had used magic to help Balak fight against Israel. ²³ The border of Reuben's land was the Jordan River.

Moses gave these towns and their villages to the tribe of Reuben, family by family.

Land for Gad's tribe

²⁴ This is the part of the land that Moses gave to the clans of Gad's tribe.

²⁵ He gave them the land of Jazer, the towns of Gilead and half the land of the Ammonites. Their land went as far as Aroer, a town which was near Rabbah. ²⁶ It went from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the land of Debir. ²⁷ Moses gave Gad these towns in the valley: Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon. He gave them the rest of the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon. This was on the east side of the Jordan River, up to the edge of the sea of Galilee.

²⁸ Moses gave these towns and their villages to the tribe of Gad, family by family.

Land for half of Manasseh's tribe

²⁹ This is the land that Moses gave to half the tribe of Manasseh, clan by clan.

³⁰ He gave them the land from Mahanaim, the land of Bashan, all the land ruled by Og, king of Bashan. It included all the 60 towns of Jair in Bashan. ³¹ It included half of Gilead, Ashtaroth and Edrei. (These were the cities that belonged to King Og in Bashan.) This land was for half the descendants of Makir, Manasseh's son, to live in, family by family.

³² Moses gave all that land to those tribes, while they were still on the east side of the Jordan River. They were in Moab, on the flat land near Jericho. ³³ Moses gave no part of the land to Levi's tribe. The Lord himself, Israel's God, would be their part, as he had promised them.

14 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the Israelite clans gave different parts of the land to each tribe of Israel. This tells about the land that each tribe received. ² The leaders used lots to decide which parts of the land God had chosen for each of the 9½ tribes. This is what the Lord had told Moses to do. ³ Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the other 2½ tribes. But he had not given any land to the Levites. ⁴ The descendants of Joseph had now become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.^[e] The leaders gave the Levites towns to live in, with enough land near them to feed their animals. ⁵ The leaders of the Israelites gave a part of the land to each tribe, as the Lord had told Moses to do.

Joshua gives Hebron to Caleb

⁶ Some of the men of Judah's tribe came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb spoke to Joshua. He was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenizzite man. Caleb said, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me, at Kadesh-Barnea. ⁷ I was 40 years old when Moses sent me from there to explore the land of Canaan. I brought back to him a true report. I was sure that we could take the land. ⁸ The other men who went with me made the people afraid. But I continued to trust the Lord my God. ⁹ So Moses made a promise to me on that day. He said, “The land that your feet have walked on will always belong to you and to your children. That is because you have trusted the Lord your God.”^[f]

¹⁰ The Lord has kept me alive for 45 years since Moses said this. During that time, the Israelites were travelling in the desert. Now I am 85 years old. ¹¹ I am still as strong as I was on the day that Moses sent me out. I can fight as well now as I could then. ¹² So please give to me this hill country that the Lord promised to me. You heard that the Anakites were living there then, in large, strong cities. But the Lord will help me to chase them out, as he has promised to do.’

¹³ Then Joshua blessed Caleb, Jephunneh's son. Joshua gave Hebron to him as his part of the land. ¹⁴ So since that day, Hebron has belonged to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite. He continued to trust the Lord, Israel's God. So Joshua gave him the land that he wanted. ¹⁵ (Before that, Hebron had been called ‘Kiriath Arba’. Arba was a famous Anakite.)

After that, there were no more battles in Canaan.

Land for Judah's tribe

15 This is the land that Joshua gave to the tribe of Judah, clan by clan. Their land went south along the border of Edom, as far as the wilderness of Zin in the Negev.

² The south border of Judah's land was from the south end of the Salt Sea. ³ It went across the south side of the Scorpion Hill, to Zin. From the south it went up to Kadesh-Barnea, as far as Hebron. Their border continued past Addar, and it turned towards Karka. ⁴ Then it went to Azmon and it continued to the Stream of Egypt. It finished at the sea. That was the south border of Judah's land.

⁵ Judah's east border went from the Salt Sea as far as the end of the Jordan River.

Their north border started from the end of the Jordan at the Salt Sea. ⁶ From there it went to Beth Hoglah. Then it went north of Beth Arabah to the stone of Bohan. (Bohan was a son of Reuben.) ⁷ The border went from the valley of Achor to Debir.^[g] Then it went north to Gilgal. Gilgal is opposite the Adummim hill, on the south side of the valley. Then it reached the springs of En Shemesh to En Rogel. ⁸ From there it went through the valley of Hinnom to the south side of a hill beside the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. Judah's border then continued to the top of the hill on the west side of the Hinnom valley. This was at the north end of the valley of the Rephaites. ⁹ From there it went to the springs of Nephtoah and onto the cities near Mount Ephron. It went towards Baalah (also called Kiriath-Jearim). ¹⁰ It went round Baalah towards the hills of Edom. It went north of Jearim mountain (also called Kesalon) down to Beth Shemesh, and it continued on past Timnah. ¹¹ Then it went out to the hills north of Ekron, and on towards Shikkeron. It went past Baalah mountain, as far as Jabneel. Judah's north border ended at the sea.

¹² The west border of Judah's land was the Mediterranean Sea.

Those were the borders of the land which Judah's tribe and its clans received.

Caleb takes the cities of Hebron and Debir^[h]

¹³ The Lord had told Joshua to give Kiriath Arba to Caleb, Jephunneh's son. That was the part of Judah's land that Caleb received. Arba was the father of Anak. Kiriath Arba was now called Hebron. ¹⁴ Caleb chased out the three sons of Anak from Hebron. Their names were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. ¹⁵ From there he went to attack the people of Debir. (Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher). ¹⁶ Caleb said, ‘If a brave man attacks and takes Kiriath Sepher, he can marry my daughter, Acsah.’ ¹⁷ Othniel attacked the city and he took it. He was the son of Caleb's brother, Kenaz. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel, to be his wife.

¹⁸ After this, Acsah told Othniel that they should ask her father to give them some land. She went to see her father, Caleb. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, ‘What would you like me to do for you?’

¹⁹ She said, ‘Please be kind and give me a special gift. You have given me some land in the Negev desert. Now please give me a place with springs so that I have water for the land.’ So Caleb gave her some land with springs, on high land and on low land.

Judah's towns

²⁰ This is the land that Joshua gave to the clans of Judah's tribe.

²¹ These towns were in the south of Judah's land, near the border of Edom:

Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth. ²⁵ Also Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet. ²⁸ Also Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon.

That is 29 towns with their villages.

³³ These towns were in the low hills in the west:

Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh and Azekah. ³⁶ Also he gave them Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah, (or Gederothaim).

There were 14 towns and villages.

³⁷ He gave them Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, and Kitlish. ⁴¹ Also he gave them Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah.

There were 16 towns and their villages.

⁴² He also gave them Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah.

There were nine towns with their villages.

⁴⁵ He also gave them Ekron with the houses and villages that belonged to it. ⁴⁶ And he gave them all those towns west of Ekron, near to Ashdod with their villages. ⁴⁷ And he gave them Ashdod and Gaza with their houses and villages. They had the land as far as the Stream of Egypt, and to the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸ These towns were in the hill country:

Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ and Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh.

There were 11 towns and their villages.

⁵² He also gave them Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) and Zior.

There were nine towns and their villages.

⁵⁵ Also Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah and Timnah.

There were ten towns and their villages.

⁵⁸ And he gave them Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon.

There were six towns and their villages.

⁶⁰ And Kiriath Baal, (that is, Kiriath-Jearim) and Rabbah.

There were two towns and their villages.

⁶¹ These towns were in the desert:

Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, Salt city, and En Gedi.

There were six towns and their villages.

⁶³ But the men of Judah's tribe could not chase the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. As a result, the Jebusites still live there, together with the people of Judah.

Land for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh

16 This is the land that Joshua gave to the descendants of Joseph.^[i] Their land went from the Jordan River at Jericho, and from there it went through the desert into the hills of Bethel.

² The south border of their land went from Bethel, to Luz, and then to the land of the Arkites at Ataroth. ³ It continued to the west, to the land of the Japhletites as far as lower Beth Horon and Gezer. The border ended at the sea.

⁴ Joshua gave this land to Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons of Joseph. It was for them and their descendants.

Land for Ephraim's tribe

⁵ Joshua gave this land to the tribe of Ephraim, clan by clan:

The border of their land went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Beth Horon. ⁶ Then it continued west to the sea, with Micmethath on the north side of the border. East of Micmethath, the border went past Taanath Shiloh on the east and then to Janoah. ⁷ From there it went to Ataroth and Naarah and past Jericho to the Jordan River. ⁸ From Tappuah, the border continued to the west, to the stream of Kanah. From there, it continued to the sea.

That is the land that Joshua gave to the families of the tribe of Ephraim. ⁹ They also received some towns and villages that were in Manasseh's land. ¹⁰ But the tribe of Ephraim did not chase out the Canaanite people who lived in Gezer. Canaanite people still live there with the people of Ephraim, but they have to work as their slaves.

Land for Manasseh's tribe

17 This is the land that Manasseh's tribe received. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn son. Manasseh's firstborn son was Makir. He was the father of Gilead. Makir's descendants were brave soldiers. Because of that, Moses had already given Gilead and Bashan to them, east of the Jordan River. ² The other families of Manasseh received land on the west side of the Jordan. They were the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. They were all sons of Manasseh, and leaders of their clans.

³ Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ They went to see Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders. They said, ‘The Lord told Moses to give us part of the land. We must have land like the sons of other families.’ Joshua agreed and he gave land to them, like the other families. ⁵ That is why Manasseh's tribe received ten parts of the land, as well as Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan. ⁶ The daughters of Manasseh received some land, as well as his sons. They gave the land of Gilead to the other families of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh's land went from Asher to Micmethath, east of Shechem. It went south to include En Tappuah. ⁸ Manasseh received the land near Tappuah, but the town of Tappuah belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. ⁹ The border of Manasseh's land went down to Kanah valley and along its north side to the Mediterranean Sea. Some towns on the south of that valley belonged to Ephraim, but they were in Manasseh's land. ¹⁰ Ephraim's land was south of the river, and Manasseh's land was to the north. Manasseh's west border was the Mediterranean Sea. Asher's land was on the north side of Manasseh's land. Issachar's land was on the east side. ¹¹ Some towns that were in the lands of Issachar and Asher belonged to Manasseh. They were Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people who lived in Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo. They included the villages near those towns. ¹² But the men of Manasseh could not chase out the people who lived in those cities. So the Canaanite people continued to live there. ¹³ When the Israelites became stronger, they made the Canaanites work for them as slaves. But they never completely chased the Canaanites out from those towns.

Joseph's descendants ask for more land

¹⁴ Joseph's descendants asked Joshua, ‘Why have you given only one part of the land for us to live in? The Lord has blessed us with many children, so there are many people in our tribe.’

¹⁵ Joshua said to them, ‘Because there are so many of you, you may take more land. If the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, move into the forest that belongs to the Perizzites and the Rephaites. Cut down trees there to make a place to live.’

¹⁶ They replied, ‘The hill country is certainly not big enough for us. But the Canaanites who live in Beth Shan and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.’

¹⁷ Joshua said to the men from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You have very many strong men who can fight. I will give you more land than the part that you have already received. ¹⁸ You may take the whole of the hill country as your land. You can cut down the trees of the forests and live there. It is true that the Canaanites are strong fighters and they have iron chariots. But you will be strong enough to chase them out.’

Joshua gives land to the other tribes

18 All the Israelite people met together at Shiloh.^[j] There they put up the Tent of Meeting. They now ruled the whole land. ² But there were still seven tribes that Joshua had not yet given a part of the land for themselves.

³ Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you the land. How much longer will you wait before you take it? ⁴ Choose three men from each tribe. I will send them to look at the whole land, to see what it is like. They must describe each part and then bring a report back to me. ⁵ You must make it into seven parts. Judah's tribe will keep the land in the south. Joseph's two tribes will keep their land in the north.^[k] Divide the rest of the land into seven parts. ⁶ See what the land is like and describe each of the seven parts. Bring your report to me. Then I will use lots to choose which tribe should receive each part of the land. The Lord our God will decide this. ⁷ The Levites will not have any land of their own. Their gift from the Lord is to serve him. Gad, Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh already have their land on the east side of the Jordan River. The Lord's servant, Moses, gave it to them.’

⁸ Before the men left, Joshua said to them, ‘Go and look carefully at the land. Describe what you see. Then bring your report back to me here in Shiloh. I will use lots so that the Lord decides how to share the land between you.’

⁹ So the men left and they travelled through the land. They described the land and each town and they wrote it in a book. They wrote about each of the seven parts of the land. Then they went back to Joshua at Shiloh, where the Israelites had put up their tents.

¹⁰ There at Shiloh, Joshua used lots to see how the Lord wanted to divide the land. He told each of the seven Israelite tribes which part of the land they would receive.

Land for Benjamin's tribe

¹¹ The first part of the land was for Benjamin's tribe, clan by clan. Their land was between the land that Joshua had already given to the tribes of Judah and Joseph.

¹² The north border of their land began at the Jordan River, and it went up the hills to the north of Jericho. From there it went west into the hills, to the desert of Beth Aven. ¹³ Then their border continued to the south of Luz (that is Bethel) and went down to Ataroth Addar. That is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴ From that hill, their west border went south to Kiriath Baal (that is Kiriath-Jearim). This town belonged to the people of Judah. That was the west border of Benjamin's land.

¹⁵ The south border went from the edge of Kiriath-Jearim to the springs of water at Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then it went to the edge of the hill country, near Ben Hinnom valley. This was north of the Valley of the Rephaites. It continued down the Hinnom valley, south of the Jebusite city and then went on to En Rogel. ¹⁷ Then it went north to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth, opposite the valley of Adummim. Then it went to the great stone of Bohan, Reuben's son. ¹⁸ It continued to the north of Beth Arabah down into the Jordan Valley. ¹⁹ Then it went north of Ben Hoglah, to the north end of the Salt Sea, where the Jordan River ends. That was the south border of Benjamin's land.

²⁰ The east border of their land was the Jordan River.

Those are the borders of the land that Joshua gave to the families of Benjamin's tribe.

²¹ These are the cities that Joshua gave to the tribe of Benjamin:

Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Kephar, Ammoni, Ophni and Geba.

There were 12 towns and their villages.

²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath.

There were 14 towns and their villages.

Joshua gave these cities to Benjamin's tribe, for each clan to live in.

Land for Simeon's tribe

19 The second part of the land was for Simeon's tribe, clan by clan. Their land was in the middle of Judah's land. ² It included these towns:

Beersheba (also called Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar-Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar-Susah, ⁶ Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen.

There were 13 towns and their villages.

⁷ He also gave them Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan.

There were four towns and their villages. ⁸ This included all the villages near them as far as Baalath Beer (also called Ramah, in the Negev).

That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Simeon's tribe. ⁹ Because Judah had received more land than they needed, Joshua took some of their land for Simeon. So Simeon's tribe lived inside the land that Joshua had given to Judah.^[l]

Land for Zebulun's tribe

¹⁰ The next part of the land was for Zebulun's tribe, clan by clan. The border of their land went as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then it went west to Maralah, it touched Dabbesheth, and it went to the valley near Jokneam. ¹² From Sarid their border went east to the land of Kisloth Tabor. Then it went to Daberath and it continued up to Japhia. ¹³ From there, it went east to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. It went on to Rimmon, and turned to go to Neah. ¹⁴ The border went north to Hannathon and stopped at the valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵ Their land included these towns: Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem.

There were 12 towns and their villages.

¹⁶ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Zebulun's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Issachar's tribe

¹⁷ The next part of the land was for Issachar's tribe, clan by clan. ¹⁸ Their land included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. ²² The border of their land touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. It ended at the Jordan River.

There were 16 towns and their villages.

²³ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Issachar's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Asher's tribe

²⁴ The next part of the land was for Asher's tribe, clan by clan. ²⁵ Their land included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad and Mishal. The west border of their land touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷ Then it went east towards Beth Dagon, to touch Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah El. Then their border went north to Beth Emek and Neiel. It continued to Cabul in the north. ²⁸ It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Great Sidon. ²⁹ Then the border turned towards Ramah, and it went as far as the strong city of Tyre. Then it turned to Hosah and it ended at the Mediterranean Sea. Their towns included Hebel, Aczib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. They received 22 towns and their villages.

³¹ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Asher's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Naphtali's tribe

³² The sixth part of the land was for Naphtali's tribe, clan by clan.

³³ The border of their land went from Heleph and the big oak tree in Zaanannim. It went to Adami Nekeb and Jabneel, and it continued to Lakkum. It ended at the Jordan River. ³⁴ The border turned west to Aznoth Tabor and it continued to Hukkok. It touched Zebulun's land on its south side, Asher's land on its west side and the Jordan River on its east side. ³⁵ Their land included these strong cities: Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath and Kinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸ Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. They received 19 towns and their villages.

³⁹ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Naphtali's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Dan's tribe

⁴⁰ The seventh part of the land was for Dan's tribe, clan by clan. ⁴¹ Their land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath-Rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me Jarkon and Rakkon. They also received land in front of Joppa.

⁴⁷ (But later, the people of Dan failed to take their land and keep it. So they went to attack Leshem. They took the town and they killed its people. Then they lived there themselves. They called the city Dan, after their ancestor.)

⁴⁸ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Dan's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Joshua

⁴⁹ When all the tribes had received their part of the land, the Israelites gave to Joshua, son of Nun, some land for himself. ⁵⁰ This is what the Lord had told them to do. Joshua asked to have Timnah Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So they gave it to him. He built up the town and he lived in it.

⁵¹ That is the list of all the pieces of land that each tribe received. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the Israelite leaders used lots to decide which part of the land was for each tribe. They did this in Shiloh, in front of the Tent of Meeting. The Lord was there with them. In that way, they finished giving each tribe a part of the land.

Safe cities

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ² ‘Tell the Israelite people to choose special cities as safe places. I told Moses that you should do this. ³ Anyone can be safe in these cities if he has killed someone but he did not mean to kill. A person like that must run to one of these towns and he will be safe from the dead person's relative.^[m]

⁴ The person who killed someone must go to the special city. When he arrives, he must stand at the gate of the city. There he must tell the leaders what he has done. Then they must take him into the city. They must give him a place to stay so that he can live there. ⁵ The dead person's relative may chase after the killer. The leaders of the city must not let him hurt the killer. This is because the killer did not mean to kill. ⁶ The killer must stay inside that city. The judges there will decide if he is not guilty of murder. Then he must wait until the leader of the priests dies. After that, he is free to return to the town that he came from.’

⁷ So they chose these towns: Kedesh in Galilee (in the hill country of Naphtali), Shechem (in the hill country of Ephraim), and Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah).

⁸ They also chose these towns beyond Jericho, on the east side of Jordan River: Bezer (in the flat desert land of Reuben), Ramoth in Gilead (on Gad's land), Golan in Bashan (on Manasseh's land).

⁹ Any Israelite or foreign person living in Israel could run to these cities and be safe. They may have killed someone, but they did not mean to kill them. If they run to these cities, the dead person's relative could not kill them. The judges in the city had to decide whether a killer was guilty of murder. Nobody could kill them before the judges decided.

Towns for the Levites

21 The leaders of the Levite families came to speak to Joshua, son of Nun. Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the other tribes were also there. ² They met at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. The Levites said, ‘The Lord told Moses that you must give us towns to live in, as well as land for our animals.’^[n]

³ So the Israelites did as the Lord had told them. They gave to the Levites towns to live in and land for their animals. They gave these from their own land.

⁴ They gave towns first to the clans of Kohath. They gave 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. They gave these to Levites who were descendants of Aaron, the priest. ⁵ They also gave to the other descendants of Kohath, towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and the west half of Manasseh.

⁶ Then they gave 13 towns to the descendants of Gershon. Those towns came from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the east half of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ They gave 12 towns to the descendants of Merari. Those towns came from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁸ In that way, the Israelites gave these towns to the Levites, as well as land for their animals. They used lots to do it. They did as the Lord had told Moses to do.

⁹ These are the names of the towns that the tribes of Simeon and Judah gave to the Levites. ¹⁰ The Kohathite clans who were descendants of Aaron received these towns, because God chose them first.

¹¹ They received Kiriath Arba (or Hebron), with land near to it, in the hill country of Judah. Arba was the father of Anak. ¹² But the fields and villages near Hebron belonged to Caleb, son of Jephunneh. ¹³ Hebron was one of the safe cities. The descendants of Aaron, the priest, received Hebron, Libnah, ¹⁴ Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵ Holon, Debir, ¹⁶ Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, as well as their fields. These two tribes gave them nine towns. ¹⁷ Benjamin's tribe also gave four towns to them: Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸ Anathoth and Almon, as well as their fields.

¹⁹ So the priests, descendants of Aaron, received 13 towns with their fields.

²⁰ The tribe of Ephraim gave some towns to Levites from other clans of Kohath. ²¹ They gave them Shechem, a safe city, in the hill country of Ephraim, as well as Gezer, ²² Kibzaim and Beth Horon, with their fields. That was four towns. ²³ The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ²⁴ Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon. That was another four towns with their fields. ²⁵ The west half tribe of Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath-Rimmon, with their fields. That was two towns.

²⁶ So these Kohathite clans received ten towns with their fields.

²⁷ The Levites from the clans of Gershon received these towns. The east half tribe of Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan, a safe city, and Be Eshtarah. That was two towns, as well as their fields. ²⁸ The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹ Jarmuth and En Gannim, with their fields. That was another four towns. ³⁰ The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon, ³¹ Helkath and Rehob, with their fields. That was four more towns. ³² The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee, a safe city, Hammoth Dor and Kartan, with their fields. That was three towns.

³³ So the clans of Gershon received 13 cities with their fields.

³⁴ The other Levites were from the clan of Merari. The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵ Dimnah and Nahalal. That was four towns, as well as their fields. ³⁶ The tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷ Kedemoth and Mephaath, with their fields. That was four towns. ³⁸ The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead, a safe city, Mahanaim, ³⁹ Heshbon and Jazer, with their fields. That was four more towns.

⁴⁰ So the clans of Merari received 12 towns. That was all the Levite clans.

⁴¹ The Levites received 48 towns in the land of the Israelite people. ⁴² Each of these towns had its own fields round it, for animals to eat the grass.

⁴³ That is how the Lord gave the land to all the Israelite people. He had promised their ancestors that he would give the land to them. They took it from the people who had lived there, and then they lived there themselves. ⁴⁴ The Lord let them live there safely, as he had promised to their ancestors. The Lord made them stronger than their enemies, so nobody could attack them. ⁴⁵ The Lord did all the good things that he had promised to do for the people of Israel. He did not fail to do anything that he had promised.