Old/New Testament
Land for Simeon
19 The second part of the land was given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land. It was inside the area of Judah. 2 They received Beersheba (also called Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul and Hormah. 5 They also received Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6 Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen. There were 13 towns and all their fields.
7 They also received the towns of Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan. There were 4 towns and all their fields. 8 They also received all the very small areas with people living in them as far as Baalath Beer. (This is the same as Ramah in southern Canaan.) So these were the lands given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land. 9 The land of the Simeonites was taken from part of the land of Judah. Judah had much more land than they needed. So the Simeonites received part of their land.
Land for Zebulun
10 The third part of the land was given to the tribe of Zebulun. Each family group of Zebulun received some of the land. The border of Zebulun went as far as Sarid. 11 Then it went west to Maralah and came near Dabbesheth. Then it went near Jokneam. 12 Then it turned to the east. It went from Sarid to the area of Kisloth Tabor. From there it went on to Daberath and to Japhia. 13 It continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. Then it ended at Rimmon. Then the border turned and went toward Neah. 14 At Neah it turned again and went to the north. It went to Hannathon and continued to the Valley of Iphtah El. 15 Inside this border were the cities of Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were 12 towns and all their fields.
16 So these are the towns and the areas that were given to Zebulun. Each family group received some of the land.
Land for Issachar
17 The fourth part of the land was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group of Issachar received some of the land. 18 Their land included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion and Anaharath; 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez.
22 The border of their land touched the area called Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. It stopped at the Jordan River. There were 16 towns and their fields.
23 These cities and towns were part of the land that was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group received part of this land.
Land for Asher
24 The fifth part of the land was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group of Asher received some of the land. 25 Their land included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad and Mishal.
The western border touched Mount Carmel and Shihor Libnath. 27 Then it turned toward the east. It went to Beth Dagon. It touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El. Then it went north of Beth Emek and Neiel. It passed north to Cabul. 28 Then it went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah. It continued to Greater Sidon. 29 Then the border went back south toward Ramah. It continued to the strong, walled city of Tyre. Then it turned and went toward Hosah. It ended at the sea. This was in the area of Aczib, 30 Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were 22 towns and their fields.
31 These cities and their fields were part of the land that was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group in that tribe received some of this land.
Land for Naphtali
32 The sixth part of the land was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group of Naphtali received some of the land. 33 The border of their land started at the large tree in the area of Zaanannim. This is near Heleph. Then it went through Adami Nekeb and Jabneel. It continued to the area of Lakkum and ended at the Jordan River. 34 Then it went to the west through Aznoth Tabor. It stopped at Hukkok. It went to the area of Zebulun on the south. And it went to the area of Asher on the west. It went to Judah, at the Jordan River, on the east. 35 There were some strong, walled cities inside these borders. Those cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath and Kinnereth; 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei and En Hazor; 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were 19 towns and all their fields.
39 The cities and the towns around them were in the land that was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group in that tribe got some of this land.
Land for Dan
40 The seventh part of the land was given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group of Dan received some of the land. 41 Their land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon and Ithlah; 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene Berak and Gath Rimmon; 46 Me Jarkon, Rakkon and the area near Joppa.
47 (But the Danites had trouble taking their land. There were strong enemies there. And the Danites could not easily defeat them. So the Danites went and fought against Leshem. They defeated Leshem and killed the people who lived there. So the Danites lived in the town of Leshem. They changed its name to Dan because he was the father of their tribe.) 48 All of these cities and towns were given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group got part of this land.
Land for Joshua
49 So the Israelite leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes. After they finished, all the Israelites decided to give Joshua son of Nun some land, too. This was land that had been promised to him. 50 The Lord had commanded that he be given this land. So they gave Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim. This was the town that Joshua told them he wanted. So he built up the town and lived there.
51 So all of these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of each tribe worked together. They divided up the land while they were at Shiloh. They met before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent to do this. Now they had finished dividing the land.
Cities of Safety
20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “Tell the Israelites to choose the special cities of safety. This is what I had Moses command you to do. 3 A person might kill someone accidentally and without meaning to kill him. He may go to a city of safety to hide. There he will be safe from the relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer.
4 “This is what he must do. When he runs to one of those cities, he must stop at the entrance gate. He must stand there and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then they will allow him to enter the city. They will give him a place to live among them. 5 But the one who is chasing him might follow him to that city. If this happens, the leaders of the city must not give him up. They must protect the person who came to them for safety. They must protect him because he killed that person accidentally. He was not angry and did not decide ahead of time to kill the person. 6 He should stay in the city until he has been judged by the court there. And he should stay until the high priest dies. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he ran away.”
7 So the Israelites chose some cities to be cities of safety. These cities were: Kedesh in Galilee in the mountains of Naphtali; Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the mountains of Judah; 8 Bezer on the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho in the desert in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh. 9 Any Israelite or anyone living among them who killed someone accidentally was included. He was to be allowed to run to one of these cities of safety. Then he could be safe there and would not be killed by the relative who had the duty of punishing a murderer. He would be judged by the court in that city.
Towns for the Levites
21 The heads of the Levite families went to talk to Eleazar the priest. They also talked to Joshua son of Nun and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel. 2 This happened at the town of Shiloh in the land of Canaan. The heads of the Levite families said to them, “The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live. And he commanded that you give us pastures.” 3 So the Israelites obeyed this commandment of the Lord. They gave the Levite people these towns and pastures: 4 The Kohath family groups were part of the tribe of Levi. Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given 13 towns. These towns were in the areas that belonged to Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. 5 The other family groups of Kohath were given 10 towns. These 10 towns were in the areas of Ephraim, Dan and West Manasseh.
6 The people from the Gershon groups were given 13 towns. They were in the land that belonged to Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The family groups of Merari were given 12 towns. These 12 towns were in the area that belonged to Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
8 So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the pastures around them. They did this to obey the commandment that the Lord had given Moses.
9 These are the names of the towns that came from the lands of Judah and Simeon. 10 The first choice of towns was given to the Kohath family groups of the Levites. 11 They gave them Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) and all its pastures. This was in the mountains of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) 12 But the fields and the small towns around the city of Kiriath Arba had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.
13 So they gave the city of Hebron to the descendants of Aaron. (Hebron was a city of safety.) They also gave them these towns: Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh. They also gave them all the pastures that were around these towns. There were 9 towns given to these two groups.
17 They also gave the people of Aaron cities that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. These cities were Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth and Almon. They gave them these 4 towns and all the pastures around them.
19 So these towns were given to the priests. These priests were from the family of Aaron. The total number of towns with their pastures was 13.
20 The other Kohathite family groups of the Levites were given these towns from the tribe of Ephraim: 21 They gave them the city of Shechem from the mountains of Ephraim. (Shechem was a city of safety.) They also gave them Gezer, 22 Kibzaim and Beth Horon. There were 4 towns and their pastures.
23 The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon and Gath Rimmon. There were 4 towns and their pastures.
25 The western half-tribe of Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath Rimmon. They were also given all the pastures around these 2 towns.
26 So this was 10 more towns and all the pastures around the towns. These were given to the rest of the Kohathite family groups.
27 The Gershonite family groups of the Levite tribe were given these towns: The eastern half-tribe of Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan. (Golan was a city of safety.) Manasseh also gave them Be Eshtarah. All the pastures around these two towns were also given to the Gershonites.
28 The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth and En Gannim. Issachar also gave them all the pastures around these 4 towns.
30 The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath and Rehob. All the pastures around these 4 towns were also given to them.
32 The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee. (Kedesh was a city of safety.) Naphtali also gave them Hammoth Dor and Kartan. All the pastures around these 2 towns were also given to the Gershonites.
33 So the Gershonite family groups received 13 towns. They also received all the pastures around these towns.
34 The Merarite family groups (the rest of the Levites) were given these towns: The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah and Nahalal. All the pastures around these 4 towns were also given to the Merarites.
36 The tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth and Mephaath. All the pastures around these 4 towns were also given to the Merarites.
38 The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead. (Ramoth was a city of safety.) They also gave them Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon and Jazer. Gad also gave them all the pastures around these 4 towns.
40 So the total number of towns given to the Merarite family groups was 12.
41 A total of 48 towns with their pastures were given to the Levites. All these towns were in the land controlled by the Israelites. 42 Each town had pastures around it.
43 So the Lord kept the promise he had made to the Israelites. He gave the people all the land he had promised. The people took the land and lived there. 44 The Lord allowed them to have peace on all sides of their land. This is what he had promised to their people who lived long ago. None of their enemies defeated them. The Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat every enemy. 45 He kept every promise he had made to the Israelites. No promises failed. Each one came true.
Simeon Sees Jesus
25 A man named Simeon lived in Jerusalem. He was a good man and very religious. He was waiting for the time when God would help Israel. The Holy Spirit was in him. 26 The Holy Spirit told Simeon that he would not die before he saw the Christ promised by the Lord. 27 The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple to do what the law said they must do. 28 Then Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God:
29 “Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant,
die in peace as you said.
30 I have seen your Salvation[a] with my own eyes.
31 You prepared him before all people.
32 He is a light for the non-Jewish people to see.
He will bring honor to your people, the Israelites.”
33 Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “Many in Israel will fall and many will rise because of this child. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept. 35 The things they think in secret will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too.”
Anna Sees Jesus
36 Anna, a prophetess, was there at the Temple. She was from the family of Phanuel in the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. She had once been married for seven years. 37 Then her husband died and she lived alone. She was now 84 years old. Anna never left the Temple. She worshiped God by going without food and praying day and night. 38 She was standing there at that time, thanking God. She talked about Jesus to all who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.
Joseph and Mary Return Home
39 Joseph and Mary finished doing everything that the law of the Lord commanded. Then they went home to Nazareth, their own town in Galilee. 40 The little child began to grow up. He became stronger and wiser, and God’s blessings were with him.
Jesus As a Boy
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42 When Jesus was 12 years old, they went to the feast as they always did. 43 When the feast days were over, they went home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Joseph and Mary traveled for a whole day. They thought that Jesus was with them in the group. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends, 45 but they did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him there. 46 After three days they found him. Jesus was sitting in the Temple with the religious teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and wise answers. 48 When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were amazed. His mother said to him, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about you. We have been looking for you.”
49 Jesus asked, “Why did you have to look for me? You should have known that I must be where my Father’s work is!” 50 But they did not understand the meaning of what he said.
51 Jesus went with them to Nazareth and obeyed them. His mother was still thinking about all that had happened. 52 Jesus continued to learn more and more and to grow physically. People liked him, and he pleased God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.