Joshua

Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;

1The leaders of the Levite families came to Eleazar the priest. The Levites were the tribe who did God's work. They also came to Joshua son of Nun and to the other tribe leaders.

2And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.

2They spoke to them at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan. They said, "The LORD told Moses to give us towns to live in. He also said to give us open land for our animals."

NoteThe old word "suburbs" here does not mean neighborhoods with houses. It means open, grassy land around a town where animals could eat.

3And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.

3So the people of Israel obeyed what the LORD said. They gave the Levites these towns and open land out of their own land.

4And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

4They drew lots to decide who got what. The first lot picked the families of Kohath. Some of these Levites came from Aaron the priest. They got thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

NoteDrawing lots was a way of choosing, a bit like drawing straws. The people did this to let God decide the answer.

5And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

5The rest of Kohath's families got ten towns. These came from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan, and from half of the tribe of Manasseh.

6And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

6Gershon's families got thirteen towns. These came from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali. Some came from the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

7Merari's families got twelve towns. These came from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

8So the people of Israel drew lots and gave the Levites these towns. They gave the open land around them too. This is just what the LORD had told Moses.

9And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,

9From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they gave the towns named here.

10Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.

10These towns went to the family of Aaron. They were part of Kohath's families, from the tribe of Levi. The first lot was theirs.

11And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.

11They gave them the town of Arba, who was the father of Anak. That town is now called Hebron, up in the hills of Judah. They got the open land all around it too.

12But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

12But the farm fields and small villages near the town were not theirs. Those had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh to keep.

13Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,

13So they gave Aaron's family Hebron and its open land. Hebron was a safe town for someone who killed a person by accident. They also gave them Libnah and its open land,

NoteA safe town was a place someone could run to if they killed a person by accident. They would be kept safe there until leaders looked at what happened.

14And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,

14and Jattir with its open land, and Eshtemoa with its open land,

15And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,

15and Holon with its open land, and Debir with its open land,

16And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

16and Ain, Juttah, and Bethshemesh, each with its open land. That made nine towns from those two tribes.

17And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

17From the tribe of Benjamin they gave Gibeon with its open land, and Geba with its open land,

18Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

18and Anathoth with its open land, and Almon with its open land. That made four towns.

19All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

19In all, the priests from Aaron's family got thirteen towns. Each town had open land around it.

20And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

20The other families of Kohath were Levites too. They got their towns from the tribe of Ephraim.

21For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,

21They were given Shechem with its open land, in the hills of Ephraim. Shechem was a safe town for someone who killed a person by accident. They also got Gezer with its open land,

22And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.

22and Kibzaim with its open land, and Bethhoron with its open land. That made four towns.

23And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

23From the tribe of Dan they got Eltekeh with its open land, and Gibbethon with its open land,

24Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

24and Aijalon with its open land, and Gathrimmon with its open land. That made four towns.

25And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

25From the half tribe of Manasseh they got Tanach with its open land, and Gathrimmon with its open land. That made two towns.

26All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

26So the rest of Kohath's families got ten towns in all. Each town had open land around it.

27And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.

27Gershon's families were Levites too. From the other half tribe of Manasseh they got Golan in Bashan, with its open land. Golan was a safe town for someone who killed a person by accident. They also got Beeshterah with its open land. That made two towns.

28And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

28From the tribe of Issachar they got Kishon with its open land, and Dabareh with its open land,

29Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.

29and Jarmuth with its open land, and Engannim with its open land. That made four towns.

30And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

30From the tribe of Asher they got Mishal with its open land, and Abdon with its open land,

31Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

31and Helkath with its open land, and Rehob with its open land. That made four towns.

32And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

32From the tribe of Naphtali they got Kedesh in Galilee, with its open land. Kedesh was a safe town for someone who killed a person by accident. They also got Hammothdor and Kartan, each with its open land. That made three towns.

33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

33So the families of Gershon got thirteen towns in all. Each town had open land around it.

34And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,

34Merari's families were the rest of the Levites. From the tribe of Zebulun they got Jokneam with its open land, and Kartah with its open land,

35Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

35and Dimnah with its open land, and Nahalal with its open land. That made four towns.

36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

36From the tribe of Reuben they got Bezer with its open land, and Jahazah with its open land,

37Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

37and Kedemoth with its open land, and Mephaath with its open land. That made four towns.

38And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

38From the tribe of Gad they got Ramoth in Gilead, with its open land. Ramoth was a safe town for someone who killed a person by accident. They also got Mahanaim with its open land,

39Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

39and Heshbon with its open land, and Jazer with its open land. That made four towns in all.

40So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

40So Merari's families, the last of the Levite families, got twelve towns. The lots decided which ones.

41All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

41The Levites had forty-eight towns in all. These towns were inside the land of the other tribes. Each one had open land around it.

42These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

42Every one of these towns had open land all around it. That was true for all of them.

43And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

43So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had promised to their fathers long ago. They took it and lived in it.

44And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

44The LORD gave them peace on every side, just as he had promised their fathers. No enemy could stand up to them. The LORD handed all their enemies over to them.

45There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

45Not one good thing the LORD had promised Israel failed. Every single promise came true.