^3 (A)For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, ^(B)but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴ For ^(C)the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance.

² And they said to them ^(A)at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, ^(B)“The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.”

The Holy District

45 “When ^(A)you allot the land as an inheritance, ^(B)you shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits^[a] long and 20,000^[b] cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. ^2 (C)Of this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for ^(D)an open space around it. ³ And ^(E)from this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, ^(F)in which shall be the sanctuary, ^(G)the Most Holy Place. ^4 (H)It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ^5 (I)Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.^[c]

⁸ “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be ^(A)the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits^[a] in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with ^(B)the sanctuary in the midst of it. ⁹ The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000^[b] in breadth. ^10 (C)These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. ¹¹ This shall be for ^(D)the consecrated priests, ^(E)the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, ^(F)as the Levites did. ¹² And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. ^13 (G)And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.^{[c] 14} They ^(H)shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate ^(I)this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.