Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites
(Numbers 35:1–8; 1 Chronicles 6:54–81)

1And then came the principall fathers of ye Leuites vnto Eleazar the priest, and vnto Iosuah the sonne of Nun, & vnto the auncient fathers that were ouer ye tribes of the children of Israel. 2And spake vnto the at Silo in the lande of Chanaan, saying: The Lorde commaunded by Moyses to geue vs cities to dwell in, with the suburbes thereof for our catell. 3And the children of Israel gaue vnto the Leuites, out of their inheritaunce at the biddyng of the Lorde, these cities folowing with their suburbes. 4And the lot came out for the kynred of the Caathites: the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Leuites, had geuen them by lot out of the tribe of Iuda, out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Beniamin, thirteene cities.

5And the rest of the children of Caath had by lot, out of the kynredes of the tribe of Ephraim, out of ye tribe of Dan, and out of the halfe tribe of Manasses, ten cities.

6And the children of Gerson had by lot out of the kynredes of the tribe of Isachar, and out of the tribe of Aser, & out of the tribe of Nephthali, and out of the other halfe tribe of Manasses in Basan, thirteene cities.

7And the childre of Merari by their kinredes, had out of the tribe of Ruben, & out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zabulon, twelue cities.

8And the children of Israel gaue by lot vnto the Leuites these cities with their suburbes, as the Lord commaunded by the hand of Moyses.

9And they gaue out of the tribe of the children of Iuda, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities by name. 10Which the children of Aaron being of the kynredes of the Caathites, and of the childre of Leui, obtained: (for theirs was the first lotte.) 11And they gaue them Kiriath Arba of the father of Enac (which is Hebron) in the hyll countrey of Iuda, with the suburbes of the same rounde about it. 12But the lande that pertayned to the citie and the villages therof, gaue they to Caleb the sonne of Iephune, to be his possession.

13And thus they gaue to the childre of Aaron the priest, a citie to the which the slayer myght flee, euen Hebron with her suburbes, and Libna with her suburbes, 14And Iathir with her suburbes, and Estemoa with he suburbes: 15Holon with her suburbes, Dabir with her suburbes: 16Ain with her suburbes, Iuttah with her suburbes, Bethsames with her suburbes: nine cities out of those two tribes. 17And out of the tribe of Beniamin, they gaue Gibeon with her suburbes, Gabae with her suburbes, 18Anatoth with her suburbes, Almon with her suburbes, foure cities. 19All these cities of the children of Aaron priestes, were thirteene cities with their suburbes.

20And the kynredes of the children of Caath that were Leuites, that is to say, the other children of Caath, had cities geuen them for their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21For they gaue them the citie that the slear might flee vnto, Sichem with her suburbes in mount Ephraim, and Gazer with her suburbes. 22And Cibzaim with her suburbes, and Bethhoron with her suburbes, foure cities. 23And out of ye tribe of Dan, Elthec with her suburbes, Gabethon with her suburbes. 24And Aialo with her suburbes, Gathremon with her suburbes, foure cities. 25And out of the halfe tribe of Manasses, Thanach with her suburbes, & Gathremon with her suburbes, two cities. 26All the cities for the other kynredes of the children of Caath, were ten, with their suburbes.

27And vnto the childre of Gerson, which were of the kynredes of the Leuites, they gaue out of the other halfe tribe of Manasses, the citie of refuge for ye slear, Golan in Basan with her suburbes, & Beestherah with her suburbes, two cities. 28And out of the tribe of Isachar, Kision with her suburbes, and Dabereh with her suburbes: 29And Iarmuth with her suburbes, Enganim with her suburbes, foure cities. 30And out of the tribe of Aser, Misal with her suburbes, Abdo with her suburbes. 31Helcath with her suburbes, and Rohob with her suburbes, foure cities. 32And out of the tribe of Nephthali the citie for the slear to flee vnto, Kedes in Galilee with her suburbes, Hamothdor with her suburbes, and Carthan with her suburbes, three cities. 33All the cities of ye Gersonites throughout their kynredes, were thirteene cities with their suburbes,

34And vnto the other kynredes of the children of Merari, the rest of the Leuites, they gaue out of the tribe of Zabulon, Iecnam with her suburbes, and Cartha with her suburbes. 35Dimnah with her suburbes, and Nahalal with her suburbes, foure cities. 36And out of the tribe of Rube, Bezer with her suburbes, and Iahasa with her suburbes, 37Kedmoth with her suburbes, and Mephaath with her suburbes, foure cities. 38And out of the tribe of Gad, they gaue the citie for the slear to flee vnto, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbes, and Mahanaim with her suburbes, 39Hesbon with suburbes, and Iaser with her suburbes, foure cities in all. 40So that all the cities of the children of Merari throughout their kinredes which were the rest of the kynredes of the Leuites, were by their lot twelue cities.

41And all the cities that the Leuites had, among the possession of the children of Israel, were 48 with their suburbes. 42And these cities lay euery one seuerally, hauing their suburbes rounde about them throughout al the said cities.

43And the Lorde gaue vnto Israel all the lande which he sware to geue vnto their fathers: And they conquered it, & dwelt therin. 44And the Lord gaue them rest rounde about, according to all that he sware vnto their fathers: and there stoode not a man of all their enemies before them: The Lorde also deliuered all their enemies into their handes. 45There scaped nothing of al the good thinges which the Lord had sayd vnto ye house of Israel, but all came to passe.