JoshuaChapter 21

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¹Now the family leaders of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua son of Nun. They also came to the leaders of the other tribes of Israel. ²This was at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. They said to them, "The LORD gave a command through Moses. He said we should be given cities to live in. He said we should also get pastures for our animals." ³So the LORD commanded it, and the Israelites obeyed. They gave the Levites these cities and their pastures out of their own land. ⁴The first lot was for the clans of Kohath. Some Levites were from the family of Aaron the priest. They got thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. ⁵The rest of the family of Kohath got ten cities by lot. These came from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and from half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁶The family of Gershon got thirteen cities by lot. These came from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali. They also came from half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁷The family of Merari got twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁸So the Israelites gave these cities and their pastures to the Levites by lot. They did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses. ⁹From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they gave these cities, named here, ¹⁰to the family of Aaron. They were from the clans of Kohath, who were Levites. They were given these cities because the first lot was theirs. ¹¹They gave them Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron, with the pastures around it. It was in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹²But the fields and villages around the city had already been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. They were his to keep. ¹³So they gave these cities and their pastures to the family of Aaron the priest: Hebron, a city of refuge for anyone who killed by mistake, Libnah, ¹⁴Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵Holon, Debir, ¹⁶Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh. That was nine cities from these two tribes, with their pastures. ¹⁷From the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸Anathoth, and Almon. That was four cities, with their pastures. ¹⁹In all, thirteen cities with their pastures were given to the priests. The priests were the family of Aaron. ²⁰The rest of the clans of Kohath, who were Levites, were given cities by lot. From the tribe of Ephraim ²¹they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim. It was a city of refuge for anyone who killed by mistake. They also got Gezer, ²²Kibzaim, and Beth-horon. That was four cities, with their pastures. ²³From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon, ²⁴Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon. That was four cities, with their pastures. ²⁵From half the tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon. That was two cities, with their pastures. ²⁶In all, ten cities with their pastures were given to the rest of the clans of Kohath. ²⁷This is what the Levite clans of Gershon were given. From half the tribe of Manasseh they got Golan in Bashan. It was a city of refuge for anyone who killed by mistake. They also got Beeshterah. That was two cities, with their pastures. ²⁸From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹Jarmuth, and En-gannim. That was four cities, with their pastures. ³⁰From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon, ³¹Helkath, and Rehob. That was four cities, with their pastures. ³²From the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee. It was a city of refuge for anyone who killed by mistake. They also got Hammoth-dor and Kartan. That was three cities, with their pastures. ³³In all, thirteen cities with their pastures were given to the clans of Gershon. ³⁴This is what the clan of Merari, the rest of the Levites, were given. From the tribe of Zebulun they got Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵Dimnah, and Nahalal. That was four cities, with their pastures. ³⁶From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷Kedemoth, and Mephaath. That was four cities, with their pastures. ³⁸From the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead. It was a city of refuge for anyone who killed by mistake. They also got Mahanaim, ³⁹Heshbon, and Jazer. That was four cities in all, with their pastures. ⁴⁰In all, twelve cities were given by lot to the clans of Merari. They were the rest of the Levite clans. ⁴¹So the Levites had forty-eight cities in all, with their pastures. These were inside the land of the Israelites. ⁴²Each of these cities had its own pastures around it. This was true for all the cities. ⁴³So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had promised with an oath to give their fathers. They took it over and lived in it. ⁴⁴The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had promised their fathers with an oath. None of their enemies could stand against them, because the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. ⁴⁵The LORD had made many good promises to the people of Israel. Not one of them had failed. Every one came true.