Joshua 20:1-22:20

New International Version

Cities of Refuge^(A)

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: ²“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally^(B) may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.^(C) ⁴When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate^(D) and state their case before the elders^(E) of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. ⁵If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly^(F) and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”

⁷So they set apart Kedesh^(G) in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem^(H) in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba^(I) (that is, Hebron^(J)) in the hill country of Judah.^(K) ⁸East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer^(L) in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead^(M) in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan^(N) in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally^(O) could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.^(P)

Towns for the Levites^(Q)

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

⁴The first lot came out for the Kohathites,^(V) 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.^(W) ⁵The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.^(X)

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

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

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

⁹From 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):

¹¹They gave them Kiriath Arba^(AE) (that is, Hebron^(AF)), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) ¹²But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.^(AG)

¹³So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge^(AH) for one accused of murder), Libnah,^(AI) ¹⁴Jattir,^(AJ) Eshtemoa,^(AK) ¹⁵Holon,^(AL) Debir,^(AM) ¹⁶Ain,^(AN) Juttah^(AO) and Beth Shemesh,^(AP) together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.

¹⁷And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon,^(AQ) Geba,^(AR) ¹⁸Anathoth^(AS) and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.

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

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

²¹In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem^(AV) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,^(AW) ²²Kibzaim and Beth Horon,^(AX) together with their pasturelands—four towns.^(AY)

²³Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,^(AZ) ²⁴Aijalon^(BA) and Gath Rimmon,^(BB) together with their pasturelands—four towns.

²⁵From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach^(BC) and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns.

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

²⁷The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:

from the half-tribe of Manasseh,

Golan in Bashan^(BE) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder^(BF)) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;

²⁸from the tribe of Issachar,^(BG)

Kishion,^(BH) Daberath,^(BI) ²⁹Jarmuth^(BJ) and En Gannim,^(BK) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³⁰from the tribe of Asher,^(BL)

Mishal,^(BM) Abdon,^(BN) ³¹Helkath and Rehob,^(BO) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³²from the tribe of Naphtali,

Kedesh^(BP) in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder^(BQ)), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.

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

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

from the tribe of Zebulun,^(BS)

Jokneam,^(BT) Kartah, ³⁵Dimnah and Nahalal,^(BU) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³⁶from the tribe of Reuben,

Bezer,^(BV) Jahaz,^(BW) ³⁷Kedemoth and Mephaath,^(BX) together with their pasturelands—four towns;

³⁸from the tribe of Gad,

Ramoth^(BY) in Gilead^(BZ) (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,^(CA) ³⁹Heshbon and Jazer,^(CB) together with their pasturelands—four towns in all.

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

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

⁴³So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors,^(CE) and they took possession^(CF) of it and settled there.^(CG) ⁴⁴The Lord gave them rest^(CH) on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies^(CI) withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies^(CJ) into their hands.^(CK) ⁴⁵Not one of all the Lord’s good promises^(CL) to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh ²and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded,^(CM) and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. ³For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. ⁴Now that the Lord your God has given them rest^(CN) as he promised, return to your homes^(CO) in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.^(CP) ⁵But be very careful to keep the commandment^(CQ) and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord^(CR) your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands,^(CS) to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.^(CT)”

⁶Then Joshua blessed^(CU) them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. ⁷(To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan,^(CV) and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side^(CW) of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,^(CX) ⁸saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock,^(CY) with silver, gold, bronze and iron,^(CZ) and a great quantity of clothing—and divide^(DA) the plunder^(DB) from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.”

⁹So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh^(DC) in Canaan to return to Gilead,^(DD) their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.

¹⁰When they came to Geliloth^(DE) near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar^(DF) there by the Jordan. ¹¹And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, ¹²the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh^(DG) to go to war against them.

¹³So the Israelites sent Phinehas^(DH) son of Eleazar,^(DI) the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁴With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.^(DJ)

¹⁵When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: ¹⁶“The whole assembly of the Lord says: ‘How could you break faith^(DK) with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion^(DL) against him now? ¹⁷Was not the sin of Peor^(DM) enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! ¹⁸And are you now turning away from the Lord?

“‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community^(DN) of Israel. ¹⁹If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle^(DO) stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar^(DP) for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things,^[a]^(DQ) did not wrath^(DR) come on the whole community^(DS) of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’”^(DT)

Footnotes

Joshua 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

John 17

New International Version

Jesus Prays to Be Glorified

17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven^(A) and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come.^(B) Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.^(C) ²For you granted him authority over all people^(D) that he might give eternal life^(E) to all those you have given him.^(F) ³Now this is eternal life: that they know you,^(G) the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.^(H) ⁴I have brought you glory^(I) on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.^(J) ⁵And now, Father, glorify me^(K) in your presence with the glory I had with you^(L) before the world began.^(M)

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶“I have revealed you^[a]^(N) to those whom you gave me^(O) out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me^(P) and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you,^(Q) and they believed that you sent me.^(R) ⁹I pray for them.^(S) I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me,^(T) for they are yours. ¹⁰All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.^(U) And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world,^(V) and I am coming to you.^(W) Holy Father, protect them by the power of^[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one^(X) as we are one.^(Y) ¹²While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost^(Z) except the one doomed to destruction^(AA) so that Scripture would be fulfilled.^(AB)

¹³“I am coming to you now,^(AC) but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy^(AD) within them. ¹⁴I have given them your word and the world has hated them,^(AE) for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.^(AF) ¹⁵My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.^(AG) ¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.^(AH) ¹⁷Sanctify them by^[d] the truth; your word is truth.^(AI) ¹⁸As you sent me into the world,^(AJ) I have sent them into the world.^(AK) ¹⁹For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.^(AL)

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one,^(AM) Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.^(AN) May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.^(AO) ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me,^(AP) that they may be one as we are one^(AQ)— ²³I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me^(AR) and have loved them^(AS) even as you have loved me.

²⁴“Father, I want those you have given me^(AT) to be with me where I am,^(AU) and to see my glory,^(AV) the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.^(AW)

²⁵“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you,^(AX) I know you, and they know that you have sent me.^(AY) ²⁶I have made you^[e] known to them,^(AZ) and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them^(BA) and that I myself may be in them.”