The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And this was the part marked out for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the oldest son of Joseph. As for Machir, the oldest son of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war he had Gilead and Bashan.
1
A part of the land west of the Jordan was assigned to some of the families descended from Joseph's older son Manasseh. Machir, the father of Gilead, was Manasseh's oldest son and a military hero, so Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan, were assigned to him.
2 And as for the rest of the children of Manasseh, their heritage was given to them by families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, by their families.
2
Land west of the Jordan was assigned to the rest of the families of Manasseh: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and they were heads of families.
3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
3
Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, did not have any sons, but only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
4 And they came before Eleazar the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and before the chiefs, saying, The Lord gave orders to Moses to give us a heritage among our brothers: so in agreement with the orders of the Lord he gave them a heritage among their father's brothers.
4
They went to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua son of Nun and to the leaders, and said, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us, as well as our male relatives, a part of the land to possess." So, as the Lord had commanded, they were given land along with their male relatives.
5 And ten parts were given to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of Jordan;
5
This is why Manasseh received ten shares in addition to Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan,
6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had a heritage among his sons, and the land of Gilead was the property of the other sons of Manasseh.
6
since his female descendants as well as his male descendants were assigned land. The land of Gilead was assigned to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.
7 And the limit of Manasseh's land was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem; the line goes on to the right hand, to the people of En-tappuah.
7
The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, east of Shechem. The border then went south to include the people of Entappuah.
8 The land of Tappuah was the property of Manasseh; but Tappuah on the edge of Manasseh was the property of the children of Ephraim.
8
The land around Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, on the border, belonged to the descendants of Ephraim.
9 And the limit goes down to the stream Kanah, to the south of the stream: these towns were Ephraim's among the towns of Manasseh; Manasseh's limit was on the north side of the stream, ending at the sea:
9
The border then went down to the stream Kanah. The cities south of the stream belonged to Ephraim, even though they were in the territory of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh proceeded along the north side of the stream and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.
10 To the south it is Ephraim's, and to the north it is Manasseh's, and the sea is his limit; and they are touching Asher on the north, and Issachar on the east.
10
Ephraim was to the south, and Manasseh was to the north, with the Mediterranean Sea as their western border. Asher was to the northwest, and Issachar to the northeast.
11 In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its daughter-towns, and Ibleam and its daughter-towns, and the people of Dor and its daughter-towns, and the people of En-dor and its daughter-towns, and the people of Taanach and its daughter-towns, and the people of Megiddo and its daughter-towns, that is, the three hills.
11
Within the territories of Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shan and Ibleam, along with their surrounding towns, as well as Dor (the one on the coast), Endor, Taanach, Megiddo, and their surrounding towns.
12 But the children of Manasseh were not able to make the people of those towns go out; but the Canaanites would go on living in that land.
12
The people of Manasseh, however, were not able to drive out the people living in those cities, so the Canaanites continued to live there.
13 And when the children of Israel had become strong, they put the Canaanites to forced work, in place of driving them out.
13
Even when the Israelites became stronger, they did not drive out all the Canaanites, but they did force them to work for them.
14 Then the children of Joseph said to Joshua, Why have you given me only one part and one stretch of land for my heritage? For through the blessing given to me by the Lord up to now, I am a great people.
14
The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, "Why have you given us only one part of the land to possess as our own? There are very many of us because the Lord has blessed us."
15 Then Joshua said to them, If you are such a great people, go up into the woodlands, clearing a place there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, if the hill-country of Ephraim is not wide enough for you.
15
Joshua answered, "If there are so many of you and the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, then go into the forests and clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim."
16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill-country is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites living in the valley have iron war-carriages, those in Beth-shean and its towns as well as those in the valley of Jezreel.
16
They replied, "The hill country is not big enough for us, but the Canaanites in the plains have iron chariots, both those who live in Beth Shan and its surrounding towns and those who live in Jezreel Valley."
17 Then Joshua said to the children of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, You are a great people, and have great power: you are not to have one property only,
17
Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and West Manasseh, "There are indeed many of you, and you are very powerful. You shall have more than one share.
18 For the hill-country of Gilead will be yours ... the woodland and cut down ... its outskirts will be yours ... get the Canaanites out, for they have iron war-carriages ... strong.
18
The hill country will be yours. Even though it is a forest, you will clear it and take possession of it from one end to the other. As for the Canaanites, you will drive them out, even though they do have iron chariots and are a strong people."
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.