3 ⁿFor Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, ^obut to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4 For ^pthe people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance.

2 And they said to them ^vat Shiloh in the land of Canaan, ^w“The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.”

The Holy District

1 “When ^eyou allot the land as an inheritance, ^fyou shall set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits¹ long and 20,000² cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent. 2 ^gOf this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for ^han open space around it. 3 And ⁱfrom this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, ^jin which shall be the sanctuary, ^kthe Most Holy Place. 4 ^lIt shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the Lord to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 ^mAnother section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.³

8 “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be ^pthe portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits¹ in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with ^qthe sanctuary in the midst of it. 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000² in breadth. 10 ^rThese shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for ^sthe consecrated priests, ^tthe sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, ^uas the Levites did. 12 And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 ^vAnd alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.³ 14 They ^wshall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate ^xthis choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.