³ Moses had granted the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan^(A) but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,^(B)

⁴ for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim.^(A) The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.^(B)

² at Shiloh^(A) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns^(B) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”^(C)

³ So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

Israel Fully Restored

45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance,^(A) you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits^[a] long and 20,000^[b] cubits^[c] wide; the entire area will be holy.^(B)

¹⁰ This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord.^{(A) 11} This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites,^(B) who were faithful in serving me^(C) and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.^{(D) 12} It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.

¹³ “Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits.^{(E) 14} They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.^(F)

¹⁵ “The remaining area, 5,000 cubits^[a] wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it ¹⁶ and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits,^[b] the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits.^{(G) 17} The pastureland for the city will be 250 cubits^[c] on the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west. ¹⁸ What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city.^{(H) 19} The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the tribes of Israel. ²⁰ The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city.