Passage

Joshua 21

Book: Joshua · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Then came near the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel; 2. and they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle. 3. And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Jehovah, these cities with their suburbs. 4. And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, 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. 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. 7. The children of Merari according to 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. 8. And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by Moses. 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: 10. and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot. 11. And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. 12. But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession. 13. And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with its suburbs, 14. and Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs, 15. and Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs, 16. and Ain with its suburbs, and Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes. 17. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs, 18. Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs; four cities. 19. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs. 20. And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21. And they gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill-country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs, 22. and Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs; four cities. 23. And out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs, 24. Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; four cities. 25. And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; two cities. 26. All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs. 27. And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with its suburbs; two cities. 28. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, 29. Jarmuth with its suburbs, En-gannim with its suburbs; four cities. 30. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, 31. Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities. 32. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Hammoth-dor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities. 33. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs. 34. And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs, 35. Dimnah with its suburbs, Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities. 36. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, and Jahaz with its suburbs, 37. Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities. 38. And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, 39. Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all. 40. All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities. 41. All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. 42. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus it was with all these cities. 43. So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. 44. And Jehovah 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; Jehovah delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45. There failed not aught of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:1-45, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Then the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2. They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “Yahweh commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our livestock.” 3. The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities with their suburbs. 4. The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin. 5. The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6. The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7. The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun. 8. The children of Israel gave these cities with their suburbs by lot to the Levites, as Yahweh commanded by Moses. 9. 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 mentioned by name: 10. and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot. 11. They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (also called Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its suburbs around it. 12. But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession. 13. To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its suburbs, 14. Jattir with its suburbs, Eshtemoa with its suburbs, 15. Holon with its suburbs, Debir with its suburbs, 16. Ain with its suburbs, Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth Shemesh with its suburbs: nine cities out of those two tribes. 17. Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs, 18. Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs: four cities. 19. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs. 20. The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21. They gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Gezer with its suburbs, 22. Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs: four cities. 23. Out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs, 24. Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath Rimmon with its suburbs: four cities. 25. Out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath Rimmon with its suburbs: two cities. 26. All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs. 27. They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Be Eshterah with its suburbs: two cities. 28. Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, 29. Jarmuth with its suburbs, En Gannim with its suburbs: four cities. 30. Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, 31. Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs: four cities. 32. Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Hammothdor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs: three cities. 33. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs. 34. To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, Kartah with its suburbs, 35. Dimnah with its suburbs, and Nahalal with its suburbs: four cities. 36. Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, Jahaz with its suburbs, 37. Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs: four cities. 38. Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, 39. Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs: four cities in all. 40. All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites. Their lot was twelve cities. 41. All the cities of the Levites among the possessions of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs. 42. Each of these cities included their suburbs around them. It was this way with all these cities. 43. So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it. 44. Yahweh gave them rest all around, according to all that he swore to their fathers. Not a man of all their enemies stood before them. Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45. Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass." (Joshua 21:1-45, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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; 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, ^{mentioned: Heb. called} 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. 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. ^{the city: or, Kirjatharba} 12. But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession. 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, 14. And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, 15. And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, 16. And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes. 17. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, 18. Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities. 19. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs. 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. 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, 22. And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities. 23. And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, 24. Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities. 25. And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities. 26. All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained. 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. 28. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs, 29. Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities. 30. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, 31. Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; 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. 33. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs. 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, 35. Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities. 36. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs, 37. Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; 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, 39. Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all. 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. 41. All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. 42. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities. 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. 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. 45. There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:1-45, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And the heads of the fathers of the Levites draw nigh unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 2. and they speak unto them in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, saying, 'Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses to give to us cities to dwell in, and their suburbs for our cattle.' 3. And the sons of Israel give to the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the command of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs: 4. And the lot goeth out for the families of the Kohathite, and there are for the sons of Aaron the priest (of the Levites), out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, by lot thirteen cities, 5. and for the sons of Kohath who are left, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, by lot ten cities: 6. And for the sons of Gershon [are], 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, by lot, thirteen cities. 7. For the sons of Merari, for their families, [are], out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. 8. And the sons of Israel give to the Levites these cities and their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, by lot. 9. And they give out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, these cities which are called by name; 10. and they are for the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathite, of the sons of Levi, for theirs hath been the first lot; 11. and they give to them the city of Arba father of Anak (it [is] Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, and its suburbs round about it; 12. and the field of the city and its villages they have given to Caleb son of Jephunneh for his possession. 13. And to the sons of Aaron the priest they have given the city of refuge [for] the man-slayer, Hebron and its suburbs, and Libnah and its suburbs, 14. and Jattir and its suburbs, and Eshtemoa and its suburbs, 15. and Holon and its suburbs, and Debir and its suburbs, 16. and Ain and its suburbs, and Juttah and its suburbs, Beth-Shemesh and its suburbs; nine cities out of these two tribes. 17. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its suburbs, Geba and its suburbs, 18. Anathoth and its suburbs, and Almon and its suburbs, four cities; 19. all the cities of the sons of Aaron the priests, [are] thirteen cities and their suburbs. 20. And for the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, who are left of the sons of Kohath, even the cities of their lot are of the tribe of Ephraim; 21. and they give to them the city of refuge [for] the man-slayer, Shechem and its suburbs, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Gezer and its suburbs, 22. and Kibzaim and its suburbs, and Beth-Horon and its suburbs, four cities. 23. And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its suburbs, Gibbethon and its suburbs, 24. Aijalon and its suburbs, Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs, four cities. 25. And out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and its suburbs, and Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs, two cities; 26. all the cities [are] ten and their suburbs, for the families of the sons of Kohath who are left. 27. And for the sons of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge [for] the man-slayer, Golan in Bashan and its suburbs, and Beeshterah and its suburbs, two cities. 28. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon and its suburbs, Dabarath and its suburbs, 29. Jarmuth and its suburbs, En-Gannim and its suburbs, four cities. 30. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal and its suburbs, Abdon and its suburbs, 31. Helkath and its suburbs, and Rehob and its suburbs, four cities. 32. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge [for] the man-slayer, Kedesh in Galilee and its suburbs, and Hammoth-Dor and its suburbs, and Kartan and its suburbs, three cities; 33. all the cities of the Gershonite, for their families, [are] thirteen cities and their suburbs. 34. And for the families of the sons of Merari, the Levites, who are left, [are,] out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its suburbs, Kartah and its suburbs, 35. Dimnah and its suburbs, Nahalal and its suburbs, four cities. 36. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its suburbs, and Jahazah and its suburbs, 37. Kedemoth and its suburbs, and Mephaath and its suburbs, four cities. 38. And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge [for] the man-slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, and Mahanaim and its suburbs, 39. Heshbon and its suburbs, Jazer and its suburbs, [in] all four cities. 40. All the cities for the sons of Merari, for their families, who are left of the families of the Levites, their lot is twelve cities. 41. All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel [are] forty and eight cities, and their suburbs. 42. These cities are each city and its suburbs round about it; so to all these cities. 43. And Jehovah giveth to Israel the whole of the land which He hath sworn to give to their fathers, and they possess it, and dwell in it; 44. and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about, according to all that which He hath sworn to their fathers, and there hath not stood a man in their presence of all their enemies, the whole of their enemies hath Jehovah given into their hand; 45. there hath not fallen a thing of all the good thing which Jehovah spake unto the house of Israel, the whole hath come." (Joshua 21:1-45, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Spare the Rod Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.