Old/New Testament
Land for Ephraim and Manasseh
16 This is the ·land [allotment] the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Joseph received. It started at the Jordan River near Jericho and continued to the ·waters [springs] of Jericho, just east of the city. The border went up from Jericho to the ·mountains [hill country] of Bethel [C located northwest of Jersusalem]. 2 Then it continued from Bethel ·(also called Luz) [or to Luz] ·to [crossing over to] the Arkite border at Ataroth. 3 From there it went west to the ·border [L territory] of the Japhletites and continued to the area of the Lower Beth Horon. Then it went to Gezer and ended at the sea.
4 So Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph, received their ·land [inheritance].
5 This is the land that was given to the ·family groups [clans] of Ephraim: Their border [L of their inheritance] started at Ataroth Addar in the east, went to Upper Beth Horon, 6 and then to the sea. From Micmethath [L on the north] it turned eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and ·continued eastward [or passing by it on the east] to Janoah. 7 Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah. It continued until it touched Jericho and stopped at the Jordan River. 8 The border went from Tappuah west to Kanah ·Ravine [Valley; or Brook] and ended at the sea. This is all the ·land [inheritance] that was given to each ·family group [clan] in the tribe of the Ephraimites. 9 ·Many of the towns were actually within Manasseh’s borders, but the people of Ephraim got those towns and their villages [L …and the cities set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages]. 10 The Ephraimites could not ·force the Canaanites to leave [drive out the Canaanites living in] Gezer, so the Canaanites still live among the Ephraimites today, but they became ·slaves [forced laborers] of the Ephraimites.
17 Then land was ·given [allotted] to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s ·first son [firstborn; Gen. 41:51]. Manasseh’s ·first son [firstborn] was Makir [Gen. 50:23], the ·father of Gilead [or ancestor of the Gileadites]. ·Makir was a great soldier [or His descendants were great solders], so the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family. 2 ·Land [An allotment] was also given to the other ·family groups of Manasseh [L sons/descendants of Manasseh, by their clans]—[L the sons/descendants of] Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were ·all the other sons [the male descendants] of Manasseh son of Joseph.
3 Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, who was the son of Gilead, who was the son of Makir, who was the son of Manasseh. Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters, named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They ·went to [presented themselves before] Eleazar the priest [14:1; 19:51; 21:1] and to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land ·like the men received [L among/or along with our brothers; Num. 26:33; 27:1–7].” So ·Eleazar [or Joshua; L he] obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters ·some land [an inheritance], ·just like [or among] the brothers of their father. 5 So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land ·west of the Jordan River and two more sections, [L in addition to] Gilead and Bashan [12:3–4], on the east side of the Jordan River. 6 The daughters of Manasseh received ·land just as the sons did [L an inheritance among/along with his sons]. Gilead was given to the rest of the ·families [sons; descendants] of Manasseh.
7 The ·lands [border] of Manasseh ·were in the area between Asher and [L ran from Asher to] Micmethath, ·near [or east of] Shechem. The border went south to the ·En Tappuah area [L inhabitants of En Tappuah], 8 which belonged to Manasseh, except for the town of Tappuah. It was along the border of Manasseh’s land and belonged to the ·sons [people; tribe] of Ephraim. 9 The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah ·Ravine [Valley; or Brook]. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea. 10 The land to the south belonged to Ephraim, and the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The ·Mediterranean Sea [L sea] was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land on the north and Issachar’s land on the east.
11 In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh ·owned [included; had] these towns: Beth ·Shan [or Shean] and its small towns; Ibleam and its small towns; the people who lived in Dor and its small towns; the people in ·Naphoth Dor [or Dor, that is, Naphoth; L Dor…the third is Naphoth] and its small towns; the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns; the people in Megiddo and its small towns. 12 ·Manasseh [L The sons/descendants of Manasseh] was not able to defeat those cities, so the Canaanites ·continued [persisted; were determined] to live there. 13 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] grew strong, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, although they did not ·force them to leave the land [drive them out completely; Judg. 1:27–28].
14 The ·people from the tribes [sons/descendants] of Joseph said to Joshua, “You gave ·us [L me] only one ·area of land [L portion as an inheritance], but ·we are many [L I am a great] people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”
15 And Joshua answered them, “If you have too many people, go up to the forest and ·make a place [clear out land] for yourselves to live there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The ·mountain [hill] country of Ephraim is too small for you.”
16 The ·people [L sons/descendants] of Joseph said, “It is true. The ·mountain [hill] country of Ephraim is not enough for us, but the Canaanites who live in the valley have ·strong armies [L iron chariots], both in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area, and in the Valley of Jezreel.”
17 Then Joshua said to the ·people [L house] of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh, “There are many of you, and you have great power. You should be given more than one ·share of land [allotment]. 18 You also will have the ·mountain [hill] country. It is a forest, but you can ·cut down the trees and make it a good place to live [L clear it and possess its farthest border]. You will own all of it because you will ·force the Canaanites to leave the land [drive out the Canaanites] even though they have ·powerful weapons [L iron chariots] and are strong.”
The Rest of the Land Divided
18 All of the Israelites [L the whole congregation of the sons/T children of Israel] gathered together at Shiloh where they set up the Meeting Tent [Ex. 33:7–11]. The land was now under their control. 2 But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received their ·land [inheritance].
3 So Joshua said to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]: “·Why do you wait so long [L How long will you delay] to take your land? The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you. 4 Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to study the land. They will ·describe in writing [or make a map of] the land their tribe wants as its ·share [inheritance], and then they will come back to me. 5 They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will keep their land in the south, and the ·people [house] of Joseph will keep their land in the north. 6 You should ·describe [or map out] the seven parts of land in writing and bring what you have written to me. Then I will ·throw [cast] lots in the presence of the Lord our God. 7 But the Levites do not ·get any part of these lands [have an allotment among you], because ·they are priests, and their work is to serve [L their portion/inheritance is the priesthood of] the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and ·East [the half-tribe of] Manasseh have received the ·land [inheritance] promised to them, which is east of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them [Deut. 3:18–20].”
8 So the men who were chosen to map the land started out. Joshua told them, “Go and study the land and describe it in writing. Then come back to me, and I will ·throw [cast] lots in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.” 9 So the men left and ·went into [passed through] the land. They ·described [mapped out] in a scroll each town in the seven parts of the land. Then they came back to Joshua, who was still at the camp at Shiloh. 10 There Joshua ·threw [cast] lots in the presence of the Lord to ·choose [apportion] the lands that should be given to each tribe.
Land for Benjamin
11 The first ·part of the land [lot] was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each ·family group [clan] received some land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin: 12 The northern border started at the Jordan River and went along the northern ·edge [slope] of Jericho, and then it went west into the ·mountains [hill country]. That boundary continued ·until it was just east [L to the desert/wilderness] of Beth Aven. 13 From there it ·went [crossed] south to Luz (also called Bethel) and then down to Ataroth Addar, which is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.
14 At the hill to the south of Beth Horon, the border turned and went south near the western side of the hill. It went to Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim), a town ·where people of Judah lived [L of the sons/descendants of Judah]. This was the western border.
15 The southern border started ·near [at the edge of] Kiriath Jearim and went west to the ·waters [spring] of Nephtoah. 16 Then ·it [L the boundary] went down to the bottom of the hill, which was near the Valley of Ben Hinnom, on the north side of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley just south of the Jebusite city to En Rogel. 17 There it turned north and went to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth ·near [opposite] the Adummim Pass. Then it went down to the ·great Stone [L Stone] of Bohan son of Reuben. 18 The border continued to the northern ·part [slope] of Beth Arabah and went down into the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. 19 From there it went to the northern ·part [slope] of Beth Hoglah and ended at the north shore of the ·Dead [L Salt] Sea, ·where the Jordan River flows into the sea [L at the mouth of the Jordan in the south]. This was the southern border.
20 The Jordan River was the border on the eastern side. So this was the ·land [inheritance] given to the ·family groups [clans] of Benjamin with the borders on all sides.
21 The ·family groups [clans] of Benjamin received these cities: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. There were twelve towns and all their villages.
25 The tribe of Benjamin also received Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. There were fourteen towns and their villages. All these areas are the lands the ·family groups [clans] of Benjamin were given.
The Birth of Jesus
2 At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an ·order [decree] that all people in the ·countries under Roman rule [empire; Roman world] must ·list their names in a register [register for taxation]. 2 ·This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria [or This was the first census while Quirinius was governor of Syria; or This census occurred before Quirinius was governor of Syria]. 3 And all went to their own towns to be registered.
4 So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David [C Bethlehem was David’s hometown]. Joseph went there because he was from the ·family [L house and family line] of David. 5 Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was ·engaged [pledged to be married; see 1:27] and who was now pregnant. 6 While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, 7 and she gave birth to her first son. She wrapped the baby ·with pieces of cloth [in cloths; T in swaddling clothes] and laid him in a ·feeding trough [T manger], because there ·were no rooms [was no space/room] left in the ·inn [or guest room (of a private residence); or caravan shelter].
Shepherds Hear About Jesus
8 ·That night [L At night], some shepherds were [living out] in the fields ·nearby [L in that region/place] watching their ·sheep [L flock]. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord ·was shining around [surrounded] them, and they became very frightened. 10 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. [L …for/because] I am bringing you good news that will ·be a [or bring] great joy to all the people. 11 Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is ·Christ [the Messiah], the Lord. 12 This ·is how you will know him [will be the sign for you]: You will find a baby wrapped in ·pieces of cloth [cloths; T swaddling clothes] and lying in a ·feeding trough [T manger].”
13 ·Then [L And suddenly] a ·very large group [or great army] of angels from heaven ·joined [appeared with] the first angel, praising God and saying:
14 “Give glory to God in ·heaven [the highest place/heaven],
and on earth let there be peace among the people ·who please God [or he favors; L of his pleasure/approval].”[a]
15 When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a ·feeding trough [T manger]. 17 When they had seen him, they ·told [spread the word about; let people know] what the angels had said about this child. 18 Everyone [L who heard] ·was amazed [wondered; marveled] at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary ·treasured [kept; preserved] these things and ·continued to think about them [L pondered/considered them in her heart]. 20 Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, ·praising [glorifying] God and ·thanking [praising] him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them.
21 When ·the baby was eight days old [L eight days were fulfilled; Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3], he was circumcised [1:59] and was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before ·the baby began to grow inside Mary [L he was conceived in the womb].
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22 When the ·time came [L days were fulfilled] for ·Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure [L their purification according the law of Moses; C an animal sacrifice and ritual cleansing forty days after the birth of a son; see Lev. 12:2–8], they took Jesus [L up] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 ([L Just as] It is written in the law of the Lord: “Every ·firstborn male [L male who opens the womb; C an idiom for a firstborn] shall be ·given [set apart; consecrated; L called holy] to the Lord” [Ex. 13:2].) 24 Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two ·doves [or turtledoves] or two young pigeons [Lev. 5:11; 12:8].”
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