Joshua 21

21 ¹ Then the heads of the families of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. ² At Shiloh in the land of Canaan they said to them, "Our Father commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock."

³ So the Israelites gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands, out of their own inheritance, at the command of our Father. ⁴ The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The descendants of Aaron the priest, who were among the Levites, received by lot thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. ⁵ The rest of the Kohathites received by lot ten cities from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁶ The descendants of Gershon received by lot thirteen cities from the families of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁷ The descendants of Merari, by their families, received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun. ⁸ So the Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands to the Levites by lot, just as our Father had commanded through Moses. ⁹ From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they gave the cities named here: ¹⁰ These went to the descendants of Aaron, of the Kohathite families of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them. ¹¹ They gave them Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the pasturelands around it (Arba was the father of Anak). ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages they had already given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. ¹³ To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, a city of refuge for one who has killed, with its pasturelands, along with Libnah and its pasturelands, ¹⁴ Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, ¹⁵ Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, ¹⁶ Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands — nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands — four cities. ¹⁹ All the cities of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

²⁰ As for the rest of the Kohathite families of the Levites, the cities of their lot came from the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹ They gave them Shechem, a city of refuge for one who has killed, with its pasturelands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasturelands, ²² Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands — four cities. ²³ From the tribe of Dan: Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands — four cities. ²⁵ From the half-tribe of Manasseh: Taanach with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands — two cities. ²⁶ All these were ten cities with their pasturelands for the rest of the Kohathite families.

²⁷ To the Gershonites, of the Levite families, they gave from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for one who has killed, with its pasturelands, and Be-eshterah with its pasturelands — two cities. ²⁸ From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands — four cities. ³⁰ From the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands — four cities. ³² From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee, a city of refuge for one who has killed, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands — three cities. ³³ All the cities of the Gershonites, by their families, were thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

³⁴ To the rest of the Levites, the Merarite families, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands — four cities. ³⁶ From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands — four cities. ³⁸ From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for one who has killed, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ³⁹ Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands — four cities in all. ⁴⁰ All the cities allotted to the Merarites, by their families — the rest of the Levite families — came to twelve cities.

⁴¹ In all, the cities of the Levites within the possession of the Israelites numbered forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. ⁴² Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true of all of them.

⁴³ So our Father gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled in it. ⁴⁴ Our Father gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies could stand against them; our Father gave all their enemies into their hands. ⁴⁵ Not one word failed of all the good promises our Father had made to the house of Israel; every one came true.