Joshua 13

Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.

1Joshua was now very old. The LORD said to him, "You are old. But there is still a lot of land left to take."

2This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,

2This is the land that is left. It includes all the land of the Philistines and the Geshurites.

3From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:

3It runs from the Shihor stream near Egypt north to Ekron. That land counts as Canaanite land. Five Philistine rulers live there. They rule Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The Avvites live there too.

Note"Five lords of the Philistines" means the five rulers of five Philistine cities.

4From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:

4To the south lies all the land of the Canaanites. It goes from Mearah, near the city of Sidon, up to Aphek. That is where the land of the Amorites begins.

5And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.

5There is also the land of the Gebalites. And there is all of Lebanon to the east. It starts at Baal-gad below Mount Hermon and runs to Lebo-hamath.

6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.

6"I myself will drive out everyone in the hill country. That means from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, and all the people of Sidon. You just divide the land among the people of Israel. Do it the way I told you.

7Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh,

7So now divide this land among the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh."

8With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them;

8The other half of Manasseh had already gotten land. So had the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave it to them. It was east of the Jordan River.

9From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;

9Their land started at Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley. It took in the town in the middle of the valley. It took in the whole flat land of Medeba, as far as Dibon.

10And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;

10It also took in all the towns of Sihon, king of the Amorites. He had ruled from the city of Heshbon. The land reached to the border of the Ammonites.

11And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;

11It took in Gilead, and the land of the Geshurites and Maacathites. It took in all of Mount Hermon and all of Bashan, as far as Salecah.

12All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out.

12It took in the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan. He had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last of the Rephaim, a people who were very tall. Moses beat these kings and pushed their people out.

NoteThe KJV says "giants" here. The Hebrew word is Rephaim, the name of a people known for being very tall.

13Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.

13But the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So those people still live among the Israelites today.

14Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.

14Moses gave no land to the tribe of Levi. Their share is the gifts burned on the altar for the LORD, the God of Israel. That is what God told them.

Note"Inheritance" here means the share of land a family or tribe gets to keep. The Levites got no land share, so they lived on the gifts people brought to God.

15And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families.

15Here is the land Moses gave to the families of the tribe of Reuben.

16And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;

16Their land started at Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley. It took in the town in the middle of the valley. It took in the whole flat land near Medeba.

17Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon,

17It took in Heshbon and all its towns on the flat land. That included Dibon, Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon.

18And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,

18It also took in Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

19And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley,

19It took in Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar, on the hill in the valley.

20And Bethpeor, and Ashdothpisgah, and Bethjeshimoth,

20It took in Beth-peor, the slopes of Mount Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.

21And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.

21It took in all the towns on the flat land. It took in all the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. Moses beat him. Moses also beat the leaders of Midian named Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They were Sihon's chiefs and lived in that land.

22Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.

22The Israelites also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. He was a man who tried to tell the future. He died with the others who were killed.

23And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.

23The edge of Reuben's land was the Jordan River. This was the land given to Reuben's families, with its towns and villages.

24And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.

24Moses also gave land to the families of the tribe of Gad.

25And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;

25Their land was Jazer and all the towns of Gilead. It took in half the land of the Ammonites, as far as Aroer, near Rabbah.

26And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;

26It ran from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim. It ran from Mahanaim to the border of Debir.

27And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.

27In the valley it took in Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon. It took in the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon. This land lay east of the Jordan River, up to the end of Lake Chinnereth.

28This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.

28This was the land given to the families of Gad, with its towns and villages.

29And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.

29Moses also gave land to the families of the half tribe of Manasseh.

30And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:

30Their land ran from Mahanaim through all of Bashan. It took in all the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan. It took in all the towns of Jair in Bashan, sixty towns in all.

31And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.

31It also took in half of Gilead, plus Ashtaroth and Edrei. Those were the king's cities of Og in Bashan. All this went to the families of Machir son of Manasseh. It went to half of Machir's people.

32These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward.

32These are the lands Moses handed out on the plains of Moab. That land is east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

33But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.

33But Moses gave no land to the tribe of Levi. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their share. That is what God told them.