20 The Lord told Aaron, “You will not have an inheritance in their land; there will be no portion among them for you. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.(A)

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20 The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;(A) I am your share and your inheritance(B) among the Israelites.

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For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him.(A)

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That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(A) as the Lord your God told them.)

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Provisions for the Levites

18 “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat the Lord’s food offerings; that is their[a][b] inheritance. Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the Lord is his inheritance, as he promised him.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 18:1 LXX; MT reads his
  2. 18:1 Or his

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical(A) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings(B) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.(C) They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(D) as he promised them.(E)

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33 But Moses did not give a portion to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, was their inheritance, just as he had promised them.(A)

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33 But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance;(A) the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance,(B) as he promised them.(C)

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because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites. The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasturelands for their cattle and livestock.

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

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But the Levites among you do not get a portion, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the Lord.(A) Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave them.”

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The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance.(A) And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them.(B)

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Cities of the Levites

21 The Levite family heads approached the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”(A) So the Israelites, by the Lord’s command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.

The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of the priest Aaron received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

Gershon’s descendants received thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

Merari’s descendants received twelve cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Cities of Aaron’s Descendants

The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon 10 to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba(B) (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah. 12 But they gave the fields and settlements of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13 They gave to the descendants of the priest Aaron:

Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, 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, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities from these two tribes.

17 From the tribe of Benjamin they gave:

Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, 18 Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands—four cities. 19 All thirteen cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

Cities of Kohath’s Other Descendants

20 The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath’s descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 The Israelites gave them:

Shechem,(C) the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities.

23 From the tribe of Dan they gave:

Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, 24 Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities.

25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they gave:

Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon[a] with its pasturelands—two cities.

26 All ten cities with their pasturelands were for the clans of Kohath’s other descendants.

Cities of Gershon’s Descendants

27 From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon,(D) who were one of the Levite clans:

Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities.

28 From the tribe of Issachar they gave:

Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities.

30 From the tribe of Asher they gave:

Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 31 Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities.

32 From the tribe of Naphtali they gave:

Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities.

33 All thirteen cities with their pasturelands were for the Gershonites by their clans.

Cities of Merari’s Descendants

34 From the tribe of Zebulun, they gave to the clans of the descendants of Merari,(E) who were the remaining Levites:

Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, 35 Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities.

36 From the tribe of Reuben they gave:

Bezer(F) with its pasturelands, Jahzah[b] with its pasturelands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities.[c]

38 From the tribe of Gad they gave:

Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 39 Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. 40 All twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari’s descendants, the remaining Levite clans.

41 Within the Israelite possession there were forty-eight cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.(G) 42 Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:25 Or Ibleam
  2. 21:36 Or Jahaz
  3. 21:36–37 Some Hb mss omit these vv.

Towns for the Levites(A)

21 Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel(B) at Shiloh(C) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns(D) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”(E) So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

The first lot came out for the Kohathites,(F) according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.(G) The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.(H)

The descendants of Gershon(I) were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar,(J) Asher,(K) Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

The descendants of Merari,(L) according to their clans, received twelve(M) towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.(N)

So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name 10 (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):

11 They gave them Kiriath Arba(O) (that is, Hebron(P)), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 12 But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.(Q)

13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge(R) for one accused of murder), Libnah,(S) 14 Jattir,(T) Eshtemoa,(U) 15 Holon,(V) Debir,(W) 16 Ain,(X) Juttah(Y) and Beth Shemesh,(Z) together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.

17 And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon,(AA) Geba,(AB) 18 Anathoth(AC) and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

19 The total number of towns(AD) for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.(AE)

20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:

21 In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem(AF) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,(AG) 22 Kibzaim and Beth Horon,(AH) together with their pasturelands—four towns.(AI)

23 Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,(AJ) 24 Aijalon(AK) and Gath Rimmon,(AL) together with their pasturelands—four towns.

25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach(AM) and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns.

26 All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.(AN)

27 The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:

from the half-tribe of Manasseh,

Golan in Bashan(AO) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder(AP)) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;

28 from the tribe of Issachar,(AQ)

Kishion,(AR) Daberath,(AS) 29 Jarmuth(AT) and En Gannim,(AU) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

30 from the tribe of Asher,(AV)

Mishal,(AW) Abdon,(AX) 31 Helkath and Rehob,(AY) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

32 from the tribe of Naphtali,

Kedesh(AZ) in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder(BA)), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.

33 The total number of towns of the Gershonite(BB) clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

34 The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:

from the tribe of Zebulun,(BC)

Jokneam,(BD) Kartah, 35 Dimnah and Nahalal,(BE) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

36 from the tribe of Reuben,

Bezer,(BF) Jahaz,(BG) 37 Kedemoth and Mephaath,(BH) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

38 from the tribe of Gad,

Ramoth(BI) in Gilead(BJ) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,(BK) 39 Heshbon and Jazer,(BL) together with their pasturelands—four towns in all.

40 The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.(BM)

41 The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.(BN) 42 Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.

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