March 15

Joshua 20:1 — 22:20

20 Then Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying: 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Give for yourselves the cities of refuge of which I spoke to YOU by means of Moses, 3 for the manslayer who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally without knowing it to flee there; and they must serve YOU as a refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And he must flee to one of these cities and stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and speak his words in the hearing of the older men of that city; and they must receive him into the city to themselves and give him a place and he must dwell with them. 5 And in case the avenger of blood chases after him, then they should not surrender the manslayer into his hand; for it was without knowing it that he struck his fellowman fatally, and he was not hating him formerly. 6 And he must dwell in that city until his standing before the assembly for judgment, until the death of the high priest who happens to be in those days. It is then that the manslayer may return, and he must enter into his city and into his house, into the city from which he had fled.’”

7 Accordingly they gave a sacred status to Kedesh in Galilee in the mountainous region of Naphtali, and Shechem in the mountainous region of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba, that is to say, Hebron, in the mountainous region of Judah. 8 And in the region of the Jordan, at Jericho, toward the east they gave Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These became the cities appointed for all the sons of Israel and for the alien resident who resides as an alien in their midst, for anyone to flee there who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally, that he may not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until his standing before the assembly.

21 The heads of the fathers of the Levites now approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 2 and they proceeded to speak to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying: “Jehovah by means of Moses commanded cities to be given us in which to dwell, together with their pasture grounds for our domestic animals.” 3 So the sons of Israel gave the Levites, at the order of Jehovah, these cities and their pasture grounds out of their inheritance.

4 Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites, and thirteen cities came to belong to the sons of Aaron the priest, of the Levites, by lot, out of the tribe of Judah and out of the tribe of the Simeonites and out of the tribe of Benjamin.

5 And for the sons of Kohath that were left over there were by lot ten cities out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim and out of the tribe of Dan and out of the half tribe of Manasseh.

6 And for the sons of Gershon there were by lot thirteen cities 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.

7 For the sons of Merari by their families there were twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben and out of the tribe of Gad and out of the tribe of Zebulun.

8 Thus the sons of Israel gave the Levites these cities and their pasture grounds by lot, just as Jehovah had commanded by means of Moses.

9 So out of the tribe of the sons of Judah and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon they gave these cities that were called by name, 10 and they came to belong to the sons of Aaron out of the families of the Kohathites of the sons of Levi, because the first lot became theirs. 11 Thus they gave them Kiriath-arba ([said Arba being] the father of Anak), that is to say, Hebron, in the mountainous region of Judah, and its pasture ground all around it; 12 and the field of the city and its settlements they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13 And to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave the city of refuge for the manslayer, namely, Hebron, and its pasture ground, also Libnah and its pasture ground, 14 and Jattir and its pasture ground, and Eshtemoa and its pasture ground, 15 and Holon and its pasture ground, and Debir and its pasture ground, 16 and Ain and its pasture ground, and Juttah and its pasture ground, Beth-shemesh and its pasture ground; nine cities out of these two tribes.

17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its pasture ground, Geba and its pasture ground, 18 Anathoth and its pasture ground, and Almon and its pasture ground; four cities.

19 All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities and their pasture grounds.

20 And for the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites who were left over of the sons of Kohath, there came to be by their lot cities out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21 Accordingly they gave them the city of refuge for the manslayer, namely, Shechem, and its pasture ground in the mountainous region of Ephraim, and Gezer and its pasture ground, 22 and Kibzaim and its pasture ground, and Beth-horon and its pasture ground; four cities.

23 And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke and its pasture ground, Gibbethon and its pasture ground, 24 Aijalon and its pasture ground, Gath-rimmon and its pasture ground; four cities.

25 And from the half tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and its pasture ground, and Gath-rimmon and its pasture ground; two cities.

26 All the cities together with their pasture grounds that the families of the sons of Kohath who were left over had were ten.

27 And for the sons of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, there was out of the half tribe of Manasseh the city of refuge for the manslayer, namely, Golan, in Bashan, and its pasture ground, and Beeshterah and its pasture ground; two cities.

28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion and its pasture ground, Daberath and its pasture ground, 29 Jarmuth and its pasture ground, En-gannim and its pasture ground; four cities.

30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal and its pasture ground, Abdon and its pasture ground, 31 Helkath and its pasture ground, and Rehob and its pasture ground; four cities.

32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge for the manslayer, namely, Kedesh in Galilee, and its pasture ground, and Hammoth-dor and its pasture ground, and Kartan and its pasture ground; three cities.

33 All the cities of the Gershonites by their families were thirteen cities and their pasture grounds.

34 And the families of the sons of Merari, the Levites who were left over, had out of the tribe of Zebulun Jokneam and its pasture ground, Kartah and its pasture ground, 35 Dimnah and its pasture ground, Nahalal and its pasture ground; four cities.

36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its pasture ground, and Jahaz and its pasture ground, 37 Kedemoth and its pasture ground, and Mephaath and its pasture ground; four cities.

38 And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for the manslayer, namely, Ramoth in Gilead, and its pasture ground, and Mahanaim and its pasture ground, 39 Heshbon and its pasture ground, Jazer and its pasture ground; all the cities being four.

40 All the cities that came to belong to the sons of Merari by their families, who were left over from the families of the Levites, were, as their lot, twelve cities.

41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities together with their pasture grounds. 42 These cities came to be each a city together with its pasture ground all around it—thus as to all these cities.

43 So Jehovah gave Israel all the land that he had sworn to give to their forefathers, and they proceeded to take possession of it and to dwell in it. 44 Furthermore, Jehovah gave them rest all around, according to everything that he had sworn to their forefathers, and not one of all their enemies stood before them. All their enemies Jehovah gave into their hand. 45 Not a promise failed out of all the good promise that Jehovah had made to the house of Israel; it all came true.

22 At that time Joshua proceeded to call the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh 2 and to say to them: “For YOUR part, YOU have kept all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded YOU, and YOU were obedient to my voice in all that I have commanded YOU. 3 YOU have not left YOUR brothers these many days down to this day, and YOU have kept the obligation of the commandment of Jehovah YOUR God. 4 And now Jehovah YOUR God has given YOUR brothers rest, just as he promised them. So now turn and go YOUR way to YOUR tents in the land of YOUR possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave YOU on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to carry out the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded YOU by loving Jehovah YOUR God and by walking in all his ways and by keeping his commandments and by cleaving to him and by serving him with all YOUR heart and with all YOUR soul.”

6 With that Joshua blessed them and sent them away that they might go to their tents. 7 And to the half tribe of Manasseh Moses had made a gift in Bashan, and to the other half of it Joshua made a gift with their brothers on the side of the Jordan to the west. So, too, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he proceeded to bless them. 8 And he went on to say to them: “Return to YOUR tents with many riches and with very much livestock, with silver and gold and copper and iron and garments in very great quantity. Take YOUR share of the spoil of YOUR enemies together with YOUR brothers.”

9 After that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned and went away from the other sons of Israel, from Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, so as to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession in which they had been settled at the order of Jehovah by means of Moses. 10 When they came to the regions of the Jordan that were in the land of Canaan, then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar great in conspicuousness. 11 Later on the other sons of Israel heard it said: “Look! The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan in the regions of the Jordan on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 When the sons of Israel got to hear of it, the whole assembly of the sons of Israel were then congregated at Shiloh to go up for military action against them.

13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and ten chieftains with him, one chieftain of each paternal house of all the tribes of Israel, and they were each a head of the house of their fathers of the thousands of Israel. 15 In time they came to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and began to speak with them, saying:

16 “This is what all the assembly of Jehovah have said, ‘What is this act of unfaithfulness that YOU have perpetrated against the God of Israel in turning back today from following Jehovah by YOUR building for yourselves an altar, that YOU may rebel today against Jehovah? 17 Was the error of Peor too small for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves down to this day, although the plague came to be upon the assembly of Jehovah? 18 And YOU—YOU would turn back today from following Jehovah; and it must occur that should YOU, for YOUR part, rebel today against Jehovah, then tomorrow it will be against the entire assembly of Israel that he will be indignant. 19 Now if it is indeed that the land of YOUR possession is unclean, make YOUR way across to the land of Jehovah’s possession where the tabernacle of Jehovah has resided, and get settled in our midst; and against Jehovah do not YOU rebel and do not make us the ones to rebel by YOUR building for yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of Jehovah our God. 20 Was it not Achan the son of Zerah that perpetrated an act of unfaithfulness in the thing devoted to destruction, and was it not against all the assembly of Israel that there came indignation? And he was not the only man to expire in his error.’”