1. “Here is the list of the tribes of Israel and the territory each is to receive. The territory of Dan is in the extreme north. Its boundary line follows the Hethlon road to Lebo-hamath and then runs on to Hazar-enan on the border of Damascus, with Hamath to the north. Dan’s territory extends all the way across the land of Israel from east to west.
2. “Asher’s territory lies south of Dan’s and also extends from east to west.
3. Naphtali’s land lies south of Asher’s, also extending from east to west.
4. Then comes Manasseh south of Naphtali, and its territory also extends from east to west.
5. South of Manasseh is Ephraim,
6. and then Reuben,
7. and then Judah, all of whose boundaries extend from east to west.
8. “South of Judah is the land set aside for a special purpose. It will be 81/3 miles wide and will extend as far east and west as the tribal territories, with the Temple at the center.
9. “The area set aside for the lord’s Temple will be 81/3 miles long and 62/3 miles wide.
10. For the priests there will be a strip of land measuring 81/3 miles long by 31/3 miles wide, with the lord’s Temple at the center.
11. This area is set aside for the ordained priests, the descendants of Zadok who served me faithfully and did not go astray with the people of Israel and the rest of the Levites.
12. It will be their special portion when the land is distributed, the most sacred land of all. Next to the priests’ territory will lie the land where the other Levites will live.
13. “The land allotted to the Levites will be the same size and shape as that belonging to the priests—81/3 miles long and 31/3 miles wide. Together these portions of land will measure 81/3 miles long by 62/3 miles wide.
14. None of this special land may ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the lord; it is set apart as holy.
15. “An additional strip of land 81/3 miles long by 12/3 miles wide, south of the sacred Temple area, will be allotted for public use—homes, pasturelands, and common lands, with a city at the center.
16. The city will measure 11/2 miles on each side—north, south, east, and west.
17. Open lands will surround the city for 150 yards in every direction.