Numbers

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

1The LORD spoke to Moses. He said this to him.

2Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)

2"Tell the people of Israel this. When you come into the land of Canaan, it will be yours. This is the land I am giving you to keep. Here are its edges.

NoteThe KJV word "coasts" does not mean beaches here. It means the edges, or borders, of the land.

3Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:

3Your land will start in the south at the desert of Zin. It runs along the edge of the land of Edom. In the east, your south edge starts at the end of the Salt Sea.

4And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon:

4The edge turns south of the hill road called Akrabbim. It goes on to Zin, then south of a place called Kadesh-barnea. Then it goes to Hazar-addar and on to Azmon.

5And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.

5At Azmon the edge turns again. It follows the small river of Egypt. It ends at the sea.

6And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.

6In the west, the Great Sea will be your edge. That is your border on the west side.

NoteThe "great sea" is the big sea we now call the Mediterranean Sea.

7And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor:

7Here is your north edge. Start at the Great Sea and draw a line to Mount Hor.

8From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:

8From Mount Hor the line goes to the way into Hamath. Then it reaches out to Zedad.

9And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border.

9The edge goes on to Ziphron. It ends at Hazar-enan. That is your border on the north side.

10And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham:

10For your east edge, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham.

11And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward:

11The edge goes down from Shepham to Riblah, east of Ain. Then it goes down along the hills east of the Sea of Chinnereth.

12And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.

12Then the edge goes down along the Jordan River. It ends at the Salt Sea. That is your land, with its edges all around it."

13And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:

13Moses told the people of Israel what God said. "You will divide this land by drawing lots. The LORD said to give it to nine tribes and one half tribe.

NoteDrawing lots was a way of choosing. People pulled marked stones or sticks to decide who got what.

14For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance:

14The families of Reuben and the families of Gad already have their land. Half the family group of Manasseh has its land too.

15The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.

15These two and a half tribes got land on the other side of the Jordan River. It is near the city of Jericho, on the east side, where the sun comes up."

16And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

16The LORD spoke to Moses again. He said this to him.

17These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.

17"Here are the names of the men who will divide the land for you. They are Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.

18And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.

18Also pick one leader from each tribe. They will help share out the land.

19And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

19Here are the names of those men. From the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

20And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.

20From the tribe of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.

21Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.

21From the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.

22And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.

22The leader from the tribe of Dan is Bukki the son of Jogli.

23The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.

23From Joseph's family, for the tribe of Manasseh, the leader is Hanniel the son of Ephod.

24And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.

24The leader from the tribe of Ephraim is Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.

25And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.

25The leader from the tribe of Zebulun is Elizaphan the son of Parnach.

26And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan.

26The leader from the tribe of Issachar is Paltiel the son of Azzan.

27And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.

27The leader from the tribe of Asher is Ahihud the son of Shelomi.

28And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.

28The leader from the tribe of Naphtali is Pedahel the son of Ammihud."

29These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

29These are the men the LORD picked. They were to share out the land of Canaan among the people of Israel.