Joshua 13:14

Contemporary English Version

Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the Lord God of Israel had told them, "Instead of land, you will receive the sacrifices offered at my altar."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He did not, however, give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was their inheritance, just as he had promised: the offerings made by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Hebrew Names Version
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.

King James Version
Only unto the tribes of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.

Lexham English Bible
Only the tribe of Levites Moses did not give an inheritance; the offerings made by fire to Yahweh the God of Israel are their inheritance, just as he promised to them.

English Standard Version
To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

New Century Version
The tribe of Levi was the only one that did not get any land. Instead, they were given all the burned sacrifices made to the Lord , the God of Israel, as he had promised them.

New English Translation
However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance to the Levites; their inheritance is the sacrificial offerings made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed them.

Amplified Bible
It was only to the tribe of Levi that Moses gave no [territory as an] inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He told him.

New American Standard Bible
Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Onely vnto the tribe of Leui he gaue none inheritance, but the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel are his inheritance, as he said vnto him.

Legacy Standard Bible
Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to Yahweh, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

Complete Jewish Bible
Only to the tribe of Levi did Moshe give no inheritance; because the offerings made by fire for Adonai the God of Isra'el are its inheritance; as [ Adonai ] had said to Moshe.

Darby Translation
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance: the offerings by fire of Jehovah the God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to them.

Easy-to-Read Version
The tribe of Levi is the only tribe that did not get any land. Instead, the Levites were given all the animals offered by fire to the Lord , the God of Israel. That is what the Lord promised them.

George Lamsa Translation
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance, because the offerings of the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as Moses had said.

Good News Translation
Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. As the Lord had told Moses, they were to receive as their possession a share of the sacrifices burned on the altar to the Lord God of Israel.

Literal Translation
Only, he has not given an inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The fire offerings of Jehovah the God of Israel are its inheritance, as He has spoken to it.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But vnto ye trybe of the Leuites he gaue no enheritaunce: for the offeringe of the LORDE God of Israel is their enheritaunce, acordinge as he hath promysed them.

American Standard Version
Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of Jehovah, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spake unto him.

Bible in Basic English
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no heritage; the offerings of the Lord, the God of Israel, made by fire are his heritage, as he said to him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Onely vnto the tribe of Leui he gaue none inheritaunce: but the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel is their inheritaunce, as he sayde vnto them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of the LORD, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as He spoke unto him.

King James Version (1611)
Onely vnto the tribe of Leui hee gaue none inheritance: the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire, are their inheritance, as he said vnto them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Only no inheritance was given to the tribe of Levi: the Lord God of Israel, he is their inheritance, as the Lord said to them; and this is the division which Moses made to the children of Israel in Araboth Moab, on the other side of Jordan, by Jericho.

English Revised Version
Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the offerings of the LORD, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spake unto him.

Berean Standard Bible
To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The offerings made by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli he yaf not possessioun to the lynage of Leuy, but sacrifices, and slayn sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel; that is `his eritage, as God spak to hym.

Young's Literal Translation
Only, to the tribe of Levi he hath not given an inheritance; fire-offerings of Jehovah, God of Israel, is its inheritance, as He hath spoken to it.

Update Bible Version
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of Yahweh, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire [are] their inheritance, as he said to them.

World English Bible
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of Yahweh, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.

New King James Version
Only to the tribe of Levi he had given no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as He said to them.

New Living Translation
Moses did not assign any allotment of land to the tribe of Levi. Instead, as the Lord had promised them, their allotment came from the offerings burned on the altar to the Lord , the God of Israel.

New Life Bible
Moses did not give any land to the family of Levi. Gifts given on the altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their share, as He said to him.

New Revised Standard
To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Howbeit, unto the tribe of Levi, gave he no inheritance, - the altar-flames of Yahweh God of Israel, are his inheritance, as he spake unto him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: but the sacrifices and victims of thee Lord God of Israel, are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.

Revised Standard Version
To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

THE MESSAGE
Levi was the only tribe that did not receive an inheritance. The Fire-Gift-Offerings to God , the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as he told them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

Contextual Overview

⁸ Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. ⁹ This region stretched north from the town in the middle of the Arnon River valley, and included the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley. It covered the flatlands of Medeba north of Dibon, ¹⁰ and took in the towns that had belonged to Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon. Some of these towns were as far east as the Ammonite border. ¹¹First, there is the Canaanite territory that starts at the Shihor River just east of Egypt and goes north to Ekron. The southern part of this region belongs to the Avvites and the Geshurites, and the land around Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron belongs to the five Philistine rulers. The other Canaanite territory is in the north. Its northern border starts at the town of Arah, which belongs to the Sidonians. From there, it goes to Aphek, then along the Amorite border to Hamath Pass. The eastern border starts at Hamath Pass and goes south to Baal-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon, and its southern boundary runs west from there to Misrephoth-Maim. This northern region includes the Lebanon Mountains and the land that belongs to the Gebalites and the Sidonians who live in the hill country from the Lebanon Mountains to Misrephoth-Maim. With my help, Israel will capture these Canaanite territories and force out the people who live there. But you must divide up the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea among the nine tribes and the half of Manasseh that don't have any land yet. Then each tribe will have its own land. Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. This region stretched north from the town in the middle of the Arnon River valley, and included the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley. It covered the flatlands of Medeba north of Dibon, and took in the towns that had belonged to Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon. Some of these towns were as far east as the Ammonite border. Geshur and Maacah were part of this region, and so was the whole territory that King Og had ruled, that is, Gilead, Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far east as Salecah. Og had lived in Ashtaroth part of each year, and he had lived in Edrei the rest of the year. Og had been one of the last of the Rephaim, but Moses had defeated Sihon and Og and their people and had forced them to leave their land. ¹³ However, the Israelites did not force the people of Geshur and Maacah to leave, and they still live there among the Israelites. ¹⁴ Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the Lord God of Israel had told them, "Instead of land, you will receive the sacrifices offered at my altar."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

See note on Joshua 13:33. Joshua 14:3, Joshua 14:4, Numbers 18:20-24, Deuteronomy 10:9, Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 12:19, Deuteronomy 18:2

Reciprocal: Numbers 26:62 - those that Deuteronomy 3:12 - from Aroer Deuteronomy 18:1 - they shall Joshua 18:7 - the Levites Ezekiel 44:28 - I am their inheritance

Cross-References

Genesis 13:10
This happened before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot looked around, he saw there was plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. All the way to Zoar the valley was as green as the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt.

Genesis 28:14
Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.

Deuteronomy 3:27
Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and look north, south, east, and west. Take a good look, but you are not going to cross the Jordan River.

Isaiah 49:18
Look around! You will see your people coming home. As surely as I live, I, the Lord , promise that your city with its people will be as lovely as a bride wearing her jewelry."

Isaiah 60:4
The Lord said: Open your eyes! Look around! Crowds are coming. Your sons are on their way from distant lands; your daughters are being carried like little children.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance,.... Neither the Lord, nor Moses by his order, nor did he appoint any inheritance for them, either beyond Jordan, or on this side it, for the Lord was to be their inheritance, Numbers 18:20;

the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire [are] their inheritance, as he said unto them; Deuteronomy 18:1; and which are put for the whole of what was granted to them for their subsistence, as tithes, firstfruits, &c.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The writer appends to the command of God Joshua 13:1-7 a statement that the other two tribes and a half had already had their inheritance marked out for them by Moses in the land east of Jordan. The boundaries of this territory as a whole are first set forth Joshua 13:8-14, and afterward the portions assigned within it to the two tribes and a half are severally described Joshua 13:15-33.

Joshua 13:14

See Deuteronomy 18:1-5 and notes.

Joshua 13:15-24

Inheritance of the tribe of Reuben. This territory was the most southerly of the trans-Jordanic possessions of Israel, and adjoined Moab, which lay only on the other side of the Arnon. Hence, the Reubenites became in after times much intermixed with the Moabites, who in fact eventually acquired much of the land, and several, if not all, of the cities here named as belonging to Reuben. This acquisition was probably assisted by the fact that the territory north of Arnon had formerly belonged to the Moabites, from whom it was wrested by the Amorites (see Numbers 21:27, etc. notes). It is not likely that the Amorite conquerors had completely extirpated the Moabite inhabitants. Hence, in the days when the Reubenites became engrossed in their pastoral pursuits, and probably not very long after the days of Joshua, the Moabites easily encroached on their inheritance, and in the end probably reoccupied nearly the whole of the ancient kingdom of Sihon (Compare Deuteronomy 33:6 note).

Joshua 13:17-21

See the marginal references for some of these names. Heshbon, Kedemoth, and Mephaath became eventually Levitical cities.

Joshua 13:21

Dukes of Sihon - Rather “vassals of Sihon,” probably those “dedicated” or “appointed” with a libation.

Joshua 13:23

Jordan ... - i. e. the Jordan and its territory (compare similar expressions in Numbers 34:6; Deuteronomy 3:16). The portion of the tribe of Reuben at its northern extremity touched the Jordan; the main part of his inheritance lay on the east of the Dead Sea.

Joshua 13:25

All the cities of Gilead - i. e. of Gilead in the narrower sense, included in the territory of Sihon, and distinct from Bashan Deuteronomy 3:10.

Half the land of the children of Ammon - i. e. that half of the Ammonite territory which had been conquered by the Amorites. This, after the overthrow of Sihon, the Israelites took for their own. The land which the Ammonites still held in the days of Moses, the Israelites were not permitted to attack.

Rabbah was a border fortress, the principal stronghold of the Ammonites Numbers 21:24, and the residence of their king. It was attacked and taken by Joab 2 Samuel 11:0; 2 Samuel 12:0; 1 Chronicles 20:1, but appears in later times again as an Ammonitish city Jeremiah 49:3; Ezekiel 25:5; Amos 1:13-15. In the third century B.C. it received from Ptolemy Philadelplus the name of Philadelphia, and was in later times the seat of a Christian bishop; but has now for many centuries been in ruins, remarkable for their grandeur and extent.

Joshua 13:26

The border of Debir - Rather perhaps “the border of Lidbir,” which is regarded as identical with the Lo-debar of 2 Samuel 9:4; 2 Samuel 17:27, one of the towns from which provisions were brought to David at Mahanaim Genesis 32:2.

Joshua 13:29-33

On the conquest of Bashan, see especially Numbers 32:33, etc. and notes.