Joshua

Joshua leads the Israelites into the Promised Land, conquering it through many battles.

Chapter 21

1 Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;

*The leaders of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes' families in Israel.

2 And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.

*They said to those in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, "The Lord told Moses to give us cities to live in and their surrounding areas for our animals."

3 And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.

*The Israelite kids gave some land to the Levites, as the LORD asked them to, for these cities and their surrounding areas.

4 And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

*The drawing decided that the Kohathite families got land. The children of Aaron, who were part of the Levites and priests, received land from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, totaling thirteen cities.

5 And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

*The remaining Kohath descendants received ten cities from the Ephraim and Dan tribes, as well as half of the Manasseh tribe.

6 And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

*The Gershon children's group got 13 cities from different tribes: Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half of Manasseh in Bashan through a drawing process.

7 The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

*The children of Merari got 12 cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun for their families.

8 And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

*The Israelite kids chose to give specific cities and their surrounding areas to the Levites, just like God instructed through Moses' actions.

9 And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name,

*They provided cities from the tribe of Judah's children and the tribe of Simeon's children, as listed by name in this text.

10 Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.

*The Kohathite family members, part of the Levi children, had this because they got the first choice, as they were descendants of Aaron.

11 And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.

*So they gave the city of Arba, Anak's dad, also known as Hebron, located in the hilly part of Judah, along with its surrounding areas.

12 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

*But the land of the city and its villages were given to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, as his property.

13 Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,

*So they gave the children of Aaron the priest the city of Hebron and its surrounding areas. This was to be a safe city for someone who accidentally caused another person's death. They also gave the city of Libnah and its surrounding areas for the same purpose.

14 And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,

*And Jattir along with its outlying areas, and Eshtemoa with its outlying areas,

15 And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,

*And Holon along with its outlying areas, and Debir together with its surrounding towns,

16 And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

*And Ain, its surrounding areas, Juttah and its surrounding areas, and Bethshemesh and its surrounding areas; a total of nine cities from these two tribes.

17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

*From the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its surrounding areas, and Geba and its surrounding areas.

18 Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

*Anathoth and its surrounding areas, plus Almon and its surrounding areas - these make up four cities.

19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

*There were thirteen cities for the priest's children, and each city had its surrounding area.

20 And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

*The Kohath family members from the Levite group got specific cities in the Ephraim tribe where they lived.

21 For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,

*So they gave Shechem and its surrounding areas in Mount Ephraim as a place of safety for someone who accidentally killed another person. They also gave Gezer and its surrounding areas.

22 And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.

*And Kibzaim and its surrounding areas, and Bethhoron and its surrounding areas; these are four cities.

23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

*From the Dan tribe, Eltekeh and its area, and Gibbethon and its area.

24 Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

*Aijalon and its outlying areas, Gathrimmon and its outlying areas; these are four cities.

25 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

*From half of the Manasseh tribe, Tanach and its area, and Gathrimmon and its area; these are two cities.

26 All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

*All the cities had ten areas including outskirts for the Kohath family members who stayed.

27 And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.

*The children of Gershon, from the Levite families, were given Golan in Bashan and Beeshterah, both with their surrounding areas, as cities of refuge for those who accidentally caused someone's death. These were two cities.

28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

*From the group of people called Issachar, there were places named Kishon and its surrounding area, and another place called Dabareh along with its surrounding area.

29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.

*Jarmuth and its suburbs, Engannim and its suburbs - these are four cities.

30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

*From the group called Asher, Mishal with its surrounding area, and Abdon with its surrounding area.

31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

*Helkat and its outlying areas, and Rehob and its outlying areas; a total of four cities.

32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

*In the Naphtali tribe, Kedesh in Galilee and its surrounding areas were made into a safe city for someone who accidentally caused another person's death. Also, Hammothdor with its surrounding areas and Kartan with its surrounding areas were added to make a total of three cities as places of refuge.

33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

*The Gershonite towns for their family groups totaled thirteen towns, each with its surrounding area.

34 And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,

*To the Merari descendants' families, the remaining Levites, from the Zebulun tribe, belong the places called Jokneam and its surrounding areas, as well as Kartah and its surrounding areas.

35 Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

*Dimnah and its surrounding areas, Nahalal and its surrounding areas; these are four cities.

36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

*From the Reuben tribe, Bezer and its surrounding areas, and Jahazah with its surrounding areas.

37 Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

*Kedemoth and its outlying areas, and Mephaath and its outlying areas; a total of four cities.

38 And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

*From the Gad tribe, Ramoth in Gilead and its surrounding areas were made into a city where someone who accidentally kills another person can find safety. Also, Mahanaim and its surrounding areas were included as well.

39 Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

*Heshbon and its nearby areas, Jazer and its nearby areas; a total of four cities.

40 So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

*Thus, the cities for Merari's descendants, based on their family groups and remaining among the Levite families, were assigned 12 cities through a drawing of lots.

41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

*The forty-eight Levite cities in Israel, including their surrounding areas, belonged to the Israeli children.

42 These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

*All the cities had their surrounding areas, and that's how each city was like.

43 And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

*And God gave Israel all the land He promised to their ancestors, and they took control of it, living there happily.

44 And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

*And God provided peace everywhere for them, just as He promised their ancestors. No enemy was left who could defeat them; God made all their opponents fall into their hands.

45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

*Whatever good thing the LORD promised to the people of Israel happened for sure.

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