1. The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the meeting tent there. The conquered land lay before them.
2. Among the Israelites, seven tribes were left that had not yet received their legacy.
3. Joshua said to the Israelites, "How long will you avoid going to take over the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?
4. Pick out three men for each tribe. I will send them out, and they will go up and travel throughout the land. They will write a description of it as the basis for determining their legacy. Then they will come back to me.
5. They will divide up the land among themselves into seven portions. Judah will stay on its territory to the south. The house of Joseph will stay on their territory to the north.
6. But you will write a report in seven parts and bring the report back here to me. Then I will cast the lot for you here, before the Lord our God.
7. However, there won’t be a portion among you for the Levites because their legacy is the priesthood of the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their legacy on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the Lord’s servant gave it to them."
8. When the men had prepared to go, Joshua gave orders to those going to write a description of the land. "Go and travel around the land, write about it, and return to me. I will cast the lot for you before the Lord here in Shiloh."
9. So the men went and passed through the land and wrote about it in a document, city by city, in seven sections. They came back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.