³ Moses had granted the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan^(A) but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,^{(B) 4} for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim.^(C) The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.^(D)

² at Shiloh^(A) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns^(B) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”^{(C) 3} So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

Israel Fully Restored

45 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance,^(A) you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits^[a] long and 20,000^[b] cubits^[c] wide; the entire area will be holy.^{(B) 2} Of this, a section 500 cubits^[d] square^(C) is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits^[e] around it for open land. ³ In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits^[f] wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. ⁴ It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests,^(D) who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the Lord. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.^{(E) 5} An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide will belong to the Levites, who serve in the temple, as their possession for towns to live in.^[g](F)

⁸ “Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits^[a] wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it.^(A)

⁹ “The special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits^[b] wide.^{(B) 10} This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord.^{(C) 11} This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites,^(D) who were faithful in serving me^(E) and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.^{(F) 12} It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.

¹³ “Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits.^{(G) 14} They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.^(H)