Joshua

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.

1All the people of Israel came together at a place called Shiloh. There they set up the holy tent where they met with God. By now they had won control of the land.

2And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.

2But seven tribes, or family groups, still had no land of their own.

3And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?

3Joshua said to the people, "Why are you waiting so long? The LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you this land. Go and take it."

Note"Slack" in the King James Version means slow or putting something off. It does not mean lazy in the way we use the word today.

4Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.

4"Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out. They will walk through the land and write down what it is like. Then they will come back to me."

5And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.

5"They will split the land into seven parts. Judah will keep its land in the south. Joseph's family will keep its land in the north."

6Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.

6"Write down the seven parts of the land. Bring the writing to me. Then I will draw lots here, with the LORD our God watching."

NoteDrawing lots was like picking names out of a jar. The people did it to let God choose, not to guess.

7But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.

7"The Levites get no land like the rest of you. Their work as priests, the men who serve God, is their share. Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh already have their land. It is east of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave it to them."

8And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.

8The men got up to go. Joshua told them, "Walk through the land. Write down what it is like. Then come back to me. I will draw lots for you here at Shiloh, with the LORD watching."

9And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.

9So the men went and walked all through the land. They listed the towns and split the land into seven parts in a book. Then they came back to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.

10And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.

10At Shiloh, Joshua drew lots for them with the LORD watching. There he gave each group of Israel its own part of the land.

11And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

11The first lot came up for the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Their land lay between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph.

12And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Bethaven.

12Their border on the north began at the Jordan River. It went up past the north side of Jericho. Then it went west through the hills. It ended at the empty land of Beth-aven.

13And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.

13From there the border crossed to the south side of Luz, also called Bethel. Then it went down to Ataroth-addar, on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.

14And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Bethhoron southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.

14On the west, the border curved south from the hill facing Beth-horon. It ended at Kiriath-baal, also called Kiriath-jearim, a town of Judah. That was the western side.

15And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:

15On the south, the border began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim. It went west to the spring called the Waters of Nephtoah.

16And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel,

16It went down to the bottom of the hill facing the Valley of Hinnom. That hill is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. The border went down the Valley of Hinnom, past the south side of the town of the Jebusites, and on down to En-rogel.

NoteThe King James Version says "the valley of the giants." That is the Valley of Rephaim, the name of a real place near Jerusalem.

17And was drawn from the north, and went forth to Enshemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben,

17From there it curved north to En-shemesh. It went on to Geliloth, across from the road up to Adummim. Then it went down to the Stone of Bohan, son of Reuben.

18And passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah:

18It went on to the north side of the slope facing Arabah. Then it went down into the valley.

19And the border passed along to the side of Bethhoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast.

19The border went on past the north side of Beth-hoglah. It ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, where the Jordan River flows in. That was the southern border.

NoteThe "salt sea" is the sea we now call the Dead Sea. Its water is far too salty to drink.

20And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families.

20On the east side, the Jordan River was the border. This was the land given to the families of Benjamin, with borders all around.

21Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz,

21These were the towns of the families of Benjamin: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, the valley of Keziz,

22And Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,

22Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

23And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,

23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

24And Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:

24Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. That is twelve towns, with their small villages.

25Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,

25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

26And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,

26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,

27And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah,

27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

28And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

28Zelah, Eleph, Jebus (also called Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. That is fourteen towns, with their small villages. This was the land given to the families of Benjamin.