Towns for the Levites

35 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,^(A) the Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in^(B) from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands^(C) around the towns. ³ Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.^(D)

⁴ “The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits^[a] from the town wall. ⁵ Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits^[b](E) on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.^(F)

Cities of Refuge^(G)

⁶ “Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee.^(H) In addition, give them forty-two other towns. ⁷ In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. ⁸ The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”^(I)

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical^(A) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings^(B) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.^{(C) 2} They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,^(D) as he promised them.^(E)

² then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. ³ Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

⁴ This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. ⁵ For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. ⁶ Otherwise, the avenger of blood^(A) might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. ⁷ This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

⁸ If the Lord your God enlarges your territory,^(B) as he promised^(C) on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, ⁹ because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him^(D)—then you are to set aside three more cities.

Towns for the Levites^(A)

21 Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel^{(B) 2} at Shiloh^(C) in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns^(D) to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”^{(E) 3} So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

⁴ The first lot came out for the Kohathites,^(F) according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.^{(G) 5} The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.^(H)

⁶ The descendants of Gershon^(I) were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar,^(J) Asher,^(K) Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ The descendants of Merari,^(L) according to their clans, received twelve^(M) towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.^(N)

⁸ So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹ From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name ¹⁰ (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):

¹⁹ The total number of towns^(AD) for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.^(AE)

²⁰ The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:

²⁶ All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.^(AN)

²⁷ The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:

²⁸ from the tribe of Issachar,^(AQ)

³⁰ from the tribe of Asher,^(AV)

³² from the tribe of Naphtali,

³³ The total number of towns of the Gershonite^(BB) clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.

³⁴ The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:

³⁶ from the tribe of Reuben,

³⁸ from the tribe of Gad,

⁴⁰ The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.^(BM)

⁴¹ The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.^{(BN) 42} Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.

⁴³ So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors,^(BO) and they took possession^(BP) of it and settled there.^{(BQ) 44} The Lord gave them rest^(BR) on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies^(BS) withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies^(BT) into their hands.^{(BU) 45} Not one of all the Lord’s good promises^(BV) to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

⁵⁴ These were the locations of their settlements^(A) allotted as their territory (they were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clan, because the first lot was for them):

⁶¹ The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of half the tribe of Manasseh.

⁶² The descendants of Gershon, clan by clan, were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher and Naphtali, and from the part of the tribe of Manasseh that is in Bashan.

⁶³ The descendants of Merari, clan by clan, were allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁶⁴ So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns^(H) and their pasturelands. ⁶⁵ From the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin they allotted the previously named towns.

⁶⁶ Some of the Kohathite clans were given as their territory towns from the tribe of Ephraim.