The Message Bible MSG
New Century Version NCV
1 The ancestral heads of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the heads of the other tribes of the People of Israel.
1
The heads of the Levite families went to talk to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel.
2 This took place at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. They said, "God commanded through Moses that you give us cities to live in with access to pastures for our cattle."
2
At Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the heads of the Levite families said to them, "The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live and pastures for our animals."
3 So the People of Israel, out of their own inheritance, gave the Levites, just as God commanded, the following cities and pastures:
3
So the Israelites obeyed this command of the Lord and gave the Levite people these towns and pastures for their own land:
4 The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites this way: Levites descended from Aaron the priest received by lot thirteen cities out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
4
The Kohath family groups were part of the tribe of Levi. Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given thirteen towns in the areas of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
5 The rest of the Kohathites received by lot ten cities from the families of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
5
The other family groups of Kohath were given ten towns in the areas of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.
6 The Gershonites received by lot thirteen cities from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
6
The people from the Gershon family groups were given thirteen towns in the land of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the East Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The families of the Merarites received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
7
The family groups of Merari were given twelve towns in the areas of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 So the People of Israel gave these cities with their pastures to the Levites just as God had ordered through Moses, that is, by lot.
8
So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the pastures around them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
9 They assigned from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin the following towns, here named individually
9
These are the names of the towns that came from the lands of Judah and Simeon.
10 (these were for the descendants of Aaron who were from the families of the Kohathite branch of Levi because the first lot fell to them):
10
The first choice of towns was given to the Kohath family groups of the Levites.
11 Kiriath Arba (Arba was the ancestor of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hills of Judah, with access to the pastures around it.
11
They gave them Kiriath Arba, also called Hebron, and all its pastures in the mountains of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
12 The fields of the city and its open lands they had already given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
12
But the fields and the villages around Kiriath Arba had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.
13 To the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (the asylum-city for the unconvicted killers), Libnah,
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So they gave the city of Hebron to the descendants of Aaron (Hebron was a city of safety). They also gave them the towns of Libnah,
14 Jattir, Eshtemoa
14
Jattir, Eshtemoa,
15 , Holon, Debir
15
Holon, Debir,
16 , Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, all with their accompanying pastures - nine towns from these two tribes.
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Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, and all the pastures around them. Nine towns were given from these two tribes.
17 And from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba,
17
They also gave the people of Aaron these cities that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba,
18 Anathoth, and Almon, together with their pastures - four towns.
18
Anathoth, and Almon. They gave them these four towns and the pastures around them.
19 The total for the cities and pastures for the priests descended from Aaron came to thirteen.
19
So these thirteen towns with their pastures were given to the priests, who were from the family of Aaron.
20 The rest of the Kohathite families from the tribe of Levi were assigned their cities by lot from the tribe of Ephraim:
20
The other Kohathite family groups of the Levites were given these towns from the tribe of Ephraim:
21 Shechem (the asylum-city for the unconvicted killer) in the hills of Ephraim, Gezer,
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Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim (which was a city of safety), Gezer,
22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, with their pastures - four towns.
22
Kibzaim, and Beth Horon. There were four towns and their pastures.
23 From the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
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The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, all with their pastures - four towns.
24
Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon. There were four towns and their pastures.
25 And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon with their pastures - two towns.
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West Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath Rimmon and the pastures around these two towns.
26 All told, ten cities with their pastures went to the remaining Kohathite families.
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So these ten towns and the pastures around them were given to the rest of the Kohathite family groups.
27 The Gershonite families of the tribe of Levi were given from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (an asylum-city for the unconvicted killer), and Be Eshtarah, with their pastures - two cities.
27
The Gershonite family groups of the Levite tribe were given these towns: East Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan, which was a city of safety, and Be Eshtarah, and the pastures around these two towns.
28 And from the tribe of Issachar: Kishion, Daberath,
28
The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath,
29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, with their pastures - four towns.
29
Jarmuth, and En Gannim, and the pastures around these four towns.
30 From the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon,
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The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon,
31 Helkath, and Rehob, with their pastures - four towns.
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Helkath, and Rehob, and the pastures around these four towns.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (an asylum-city for the unconvicted killer), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, with their pastures - three towns.
32
The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee (a city of safety), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, and the pastures around these three towns.
33 For the Gershonites and their families: thirteen towns with their pastures.
33
So the Gershonite family groups received thirteen towns and the pastures around them.
34 The Merari families, the remaining Levites, were given from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah,
34
The Merarite family groups (the rest of the Levites) were given these towns: The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah,
35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their pastures - four cities.
35
Dimnah, and Nahalal, and the pastures around these four towns.
36 From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz,
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The tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer, Jahaz,
37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, with their pastures - four towns.
37
Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with the pastures around these four towns.
38 From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (an asylum-city for the unconvicted killer), Mahanaim,
38
The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead (a city of safety), Mahanaim,
39 Heshbon, and Jazer, with their pastures - a total of four towns.
39
Heshbon, and Jazer, and the pastures around these four towns.
40 All these towns were assigned by lot to the Merarites, the remaining Levites - twelve towns.
40
So the total number of towns given to the Merarite family groups was twelve.
41 The Levites held forty-eight towns with their accompanying pastures within the territory of the People of Israel.
41
A total of forty-eight towns with their pastures in the land of Israel were given to the Levites.
42 Each of these towns had pastures surrounding it - this was the case for all these towns.
42
Each town had pastures around it.
43 And so God gave Israel the entire land that he had solemnly vowed to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and made themselves at home in it.
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So the Lord gave the people all the land he had promised their ancestors. The people took the land and lived there.
44 And God gave them rest on all sides, as he had also solemnly vowed to their ancestors. Not a single one of their enemies was able to stand up to them - God handed over all their enemies to them.
44
The Lord gave them peace on all sides, as he had promised their ancestors. None of their enemies defeated them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them.
45 Not one word failed from all the good words God spoke to the house of Israel. Everything came out right.
45
He kept every promise he had made to the Israelites; each one came true.
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.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.