New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 “Here is the list of the tribes of Israel and the territory each is to receive. The territory of Dan is in the extreme north. Its boundary line follows the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and then runs on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north. Dan’s territory extends all the way across the land of Israel from east to west.
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These are the tribes: "Dan: one portion, along the northern boundary, following the Hethlon road that turns off to the entrance of Hamath as far as Hazor-enon so that the territory of Damascus lies to the north alongside Hamath, the northern border stretching from east to west.
2 “Asher’s territory lies south of Dan’s and also extends from east to west.
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"Asher: one portion, bordering Dan from east to west.
3 Naphtali’s land lies south of Asher’s, also extending from east to west.
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"Naphtali: one portion, bordering Asher from east to west.
4 Then comes Manasseh south of Naphtali, and its territory also extends from east to west.
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"Manasseh: one portion, bordering Naphtali from east to west.
5 South of Manasseh is Ephraim,
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"Ephraim: one portion, bordering Manasseh from east to west.
6 and then Reuben,
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"Reuben: one portion, bordering Ephraim from east to west.
7 and then Judah, all of whose boundaries extend from east to west.
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"Judah: one portion, bordering Reuben from east to west.
8 “South of Judah is the land set aside for a special purpose. It will be 8 miles wide and will extend as far east and west as the tribal territories, with the Temple at the center.
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"Bordering Judah from east to west is the consecrated area that you will set aside as holy: a square approximately seven by seven miles, with the Sanctuary set at the center.
9 “The area set aside for the LORD ’s Temple will be 8 miles long and 6 miles wide.
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The consecrated area reserved for God is to be seven miles long and a little less than three miles wide.
10 For the priests there will be a strip of land measuring 8 miles long by 3 miles wide, with the LORD ’s Temple at the center.
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"This is how it will be parceled out. The priest will get the area measuring seven miles on the north and south boundaries, with a width of a little more than three miles at the east and west boundaries. The Sanctuary of God will be at the center.
11 This area is set aside for the ordained priests, the descendants of Zadok who served me faithfully and did not go astray with the people of Israel and the rest of the Levites.
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This is for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites who stayed true in their service to me and didn't get off track as the Levites did when Israel wandered off the main road.
12 It will be their special portion when the land is distributed, the most sacred land of all. Next to the priests’ territory will lie the land where the other Levites will live.
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This is their special gift, a gift from the land itself, most holy ground, bordering the section of the Levites.
13 “The land allotted to the Levites will be the same size and shape as that belonging to the priests—8 miles long and 3 miles wide. Together these portions of land will measure 8 miles long by 6 miles wide.
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"The Levites get a section equal in size to that of the priests, roughly seven by three miles.
14 None of this special land may ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the LORD ; it is set apart as holy.
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They are not permitted to sell or trade any of it. It's the choice part of the land, to say nothing of being holy to God.
15 “An additional strip of land 8 miles long by 1 miles wide, south of the sacred Temple area, will be allotted for public use—homes, pasturelands, and common lands, with a city at the center.
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"What's left of the 'sacred square' - each side measures out at seven miles by a mile and a half - is for ordinary use: the city and its buildings with open country around it, but the city at the center.
16 The city will measure 1 miles on each side—north, south, east, and west.
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The north, south, east, and west sides of the city are each about a mile and a half in length.
17 Open lands will surround the city for 150 yards in every direction.
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A strip of pasture, one hundred twenty-five yards wide, will border the city on all sides.
18 Outside the city there will be a farming area that stretches 3 miles to the east and 3 miles to the west along the border of the sacred area. This farmland will produce food for the people working in the city.
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The remainder of this portion, three miles of countryside to the east and to the west of the sacred precinct, is for farming. It will supply food for the city.
19 Those who come from the various tribes to work in the city may farm it.
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Workers from all the tribes of Israel will serve as field hands to farm the land.
20 This entire area—including the sacred lands and the city—is a square that measures 8 miles on each side.
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"This dedicated area, set apart for holy purposes, will be a square, seven miles by seven miles, a 'holy square,' which includes the part set aside for the city.
21 “The areas that remain, to the east and to the west of the sacred lands and the city, will belong to the prince. Each of these areas will be 8 miles wide, extending in opposite directions to the eastern and western borders of Israel, with the sacred lands and the sanctuary of the Temple in the center.
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"The rest of this land, the country stretching east to the Jordan and west to the Mediterranean from the seven-mile sides of the 'holy square,' belongs to the prince. His land is sandwiched between the tribal portions north and south, and goes out both east and west from the 'sacred square' with its Temple at the center.
22 So the prince’s land will include everything between the territories allotted to Judah and Benjamin, except for the areas set aside for the sacred lands and the city.
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The land set aside for the Levites on one side and the city on the other is in the middle of the territory assigned to the prince. The 'sacred square' is flanked east and west by the prince's land and bordered on the north and south by the territories of Judah and Benjamin respectively.
23 “These are the territories allotted to the rest of the tribes. Benjamin’s territory lies just south of the prince’s lands, and it extends across the entire land of Israel from east to west.
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"And then the rest of the tribes: "Benjamin: one portion, stretching from the eastern to the western boundary.
24 South of Benjamin’s territory lies that of Simeon, also extending across the land from east to west.
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"Simeon: one portion, bordering Benjamin from east to west.
25 Next is the territory of Issachar with the same eastern and western boundaries.
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"Issachar: one portion, bordering Simeon from east to west.
26 “Then comes the territory of Zebulun, which also extends across the land from east to west.
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"Zebulun: one portion, bordering Issachar from east to west.
27 The territory of Gad is just south of Zebulun with the same borders to the east and west.
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"Gad: one portion, bordering Zebulun from east to west.
28 The southern border of Gad runs from Tamar to the waters of Meribah at Kadesh and then follows the Brook of Egypt to the Mediterranean.
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"The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, along the Brook of Egypt and then out to the Great Mediterranean Sea.
29 “These are the allotments that will be set aside for each tribe’s exclusive possession. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!
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"This is the land that you are to divide up among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance. These are their portions." Decree of God, the Master.
30 “These will be the exits to the city: On the north wall, which is 1 miles long,
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"These are the gates of the city. On the north side, which is 2,250 yards long
31 there will be three gates, each one named after a tribe of Israel. The first will be named for Reuben, the second for Judah, and the third for Levi.
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(the gates of the city are named after the tribes of Israel), three gates: the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, the gate of Levi.
32 On the east wall, also 1 miles long, the gates will be named for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan.
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"On the east side, measuring 2,250 yards, three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, the gate of Dan.
33 The south wall, also 1 miles long, will have gates named for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun.
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"On the south side, measuring 2,250 yards, three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, the gate of Zebulun.
34 And on the west wall, also 1 miles long, the gates will be named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.
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"On the west side, measuring 2,250 yards, three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, the gate of Naphtali.
35 “The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘The LORD Is There.’ ”
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"The four sides of the city measure to a total of nearly six miles. "From now on the name of the city will be Yahweh-Shammah: "God-Is-There."
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.