Joshua 17

1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; that is, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

This was the allocation to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's firstborn son. Machir was Manasseh's firstborn son who was the father of Gilead. Because Machir had been an excellent fighter, Gilead and Bashan had already been allocated to him.

2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male offspring of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.

The allocation was for the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, to the families of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, by families.

3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

But Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He only had daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.

They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, and told them, “The Lord ordered Moses to give us an allocation of land along with our brothers.” So Joshua allotted land to them along with their brothers, as the Lord had ordered.

5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of Jordan;

Consequently Manasseh received ten shares of land beside the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan,

6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an allocation along with the sons. (The land of Gilead had been allotted to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh).

7 And the land of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand to the inhabitants of Entappuah.

The boundary of the tribe of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath, near Shechem, then south to the spring of Tappuah.

8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;

The land around Tappuah was allocated to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, which was on the border of Manasseh's land, was allocated to Ephraim.

9 And the border descended to the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the border of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the ends of it were at the sea:

From there the boundary ran down to the valley of Kenah. South of the valley some of the towns belonged to Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh. The boundary ran along the north side of the valley and ended at the sea.

10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

To the south the land belonged to Ephraim, and to the north, to Manasseh. The sea is the boundary. The boundary to the north was with Asher, and with Issachar to the east.

11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, even three countries.

The following towns with their associated villages were allocated to Manasseh but lay within the land of Issachar and Asher: Beth-shan, Ibleam, Dor (on the coast), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo.

12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

But the descendants of Manasseh could not take possession of these towns because the Canaanites were determined to go on occupying the land.

13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel had become strong, that they subjected the Canaanites to forced labour; but did not utterly drive them out.

However, later on, when the Israelites grew strong enough, they made the Canaanites do forced labor—but they did not drive them out.

14 And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me until now?

Then the descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked him, “Why have you given us only one allocation—only one share of the land—when there's so many of us because the Lord has blessed us so much?”

15 And Joshua answered them, If thou art a great people, then go up to the forest, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too small for thee.

Joshua told them, “If there's so many of you, if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, then go and clear ground for yourselves from the forest in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”

16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and its towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.

The descendants of Joseph replied, “The hill country isn't big enough for us, but the Canaanites living in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its villages, and those in the valley of Jezreel.”

17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:

Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so many, and you are so strong, you will be given more than just one share.

18 But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a forest, and thou shalt cut it down: and the borders of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they are strong.

You will be allocated the hill country in addition. Though it is forest, you will clear it and own it, from one end to the other. You will drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots, and even though they are strong.”