Joshua 21:3
“And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.”
Joshua 21:3 in 7 translations
- KJVKing James Version
- And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.
- DRADouay–Rheims
- And the children of Israel gave out of their possessions according to the commandment of the Lord, cities and their suburbs.
- ASVAmerican Standard Version
- And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Jehovah, these cities with their suburbs.
- DARBYDarby
- And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the word of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs.
- WEBThe World English Bible
- The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities with their suburbs.
- YLTYoung's Literal Translation
- And the sons of Israel give to the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the command of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs:
- BPVBiblePics Version
- So the Israelites gave the Levites cities from their inheritance, as the Lord commanded through Moses, along with their pasturelands.
Context: Joshua 21
1Then 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;
2And 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.
3And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.
4And 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.
5And 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.
About Joshua 21: Levitical Cities
Joshua allocates the land of Canaan by lot to the Levites and sets aside cities for them to live in.
Commentary
Joshua 21 is the conclusion of the book of Joshua, and it is a fitting end to the story of the Israelites’ conquest of the Promised Land. In this chapter, the Lord fulfills his promise to give the Israelites the land he had promised them. The Lord commands Joshua to divide the land among the tribes of Israel, and he does so according to the Lord’s instructions. The chapter ends with a list of the cities that were given to each tribe.