Deuteronomy 18
1 The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the offerings made by fire to the LORD; that is their inheritance.
Neither the priests the Levites [nor] any of the tribe of Levi, shall have either portion or inheritance with Israel, —the altar-flames of Yahweh and his inheritance, shall they eat.
2 Although they have no inheritance among their brothers, the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.
But inheritance, shall he not have, in the midst of his brethren, —Yahweh, is his inheritance, as he spake unto him.
3 This shall be the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether a bull or a sheep: the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach.
This, therefore shall be the due of the priests from the people from them who offer the sacrifice whether ox or lamb, —there shall be given unto the priest, the shoulder and the two cheeks and the maw:
4 You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.
the firstfruit of thy corn thy new wine and thine oil and the first of the fleece of thy flock, shalt thou give unto him.
5 For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.
For of him, hath Yahweh thy God made choice out of all thy tribes, —to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh of him and his sons all the days.
6 Now if a Levite moves from any town of residence throughout Israel and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,
And when the Levite shall come in out of any of thy gates out of any part of Israel, where he is sojourning, —yea shall come in with all the desire of his soul, into the place which Yahweh shall choose,
7 then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD.
then may he minister in the name of Yahweh his God, —like any of his brethren the Levites who are standing there before Yahweh.
8 They shall eat equal portions, even though he has received money from the sale of his father’s estate.
Portion for portion, shall they eat, —apart from his possessions upon his patrimony.
9 When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
When thou art coming into the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominable doings of those nations.
10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
There shall not be found in thy midst—One who causeth his son or his daughter to pass through fire, —Or who useth divination, hidden arts or enchantments Or who muttereth incantations;
11 casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.
Or who bindeth with spells, —Or who asketh of a familiar spirit or an oracle, Or who seeketh unto the dead.
12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.
For, an abomination unto Yahweh, is everyone who doeth these things, —and on account of these abominations, is Yahweh thy God dispossessing them from before thee.
13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
Blameless, shalt thou be with, Yahweh thy God;
14 Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
for, these nations whom thou art dispossessing, unto them who use hidden arts and unto diviners, do hearken, but as for thee, not so, doth Yahweh thy God suffer thee.
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
A prophet out of thy midst of thy brethren like unto me, will Yahweh thy God, raise up unto thee—unto him, shall ye hearken:
16 This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”
according to all which thou didst ask of Yahweh thy God, in Horeb, in the day of the convocation saying, —Let me no further hearken unto the voice of Yahweh my God, and this great fire, let me not see any more lest I die.
17 Then the LORD said to me, “They have spoken well.
And Yahweh said unto me: They have well said what they have spoken.
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
A prophet, will I raise up unto them, out of the midst of their brethren, like unto thee, —and I will put my words in his mouth, so shall he speak unto them whatsoever I shall command him.
19 And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.
And it shall come to pass, that, the man who will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I, myself will require it of him.
20 But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”
Howbeit the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.
21 You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?”
And, when thou shalt say in thy heart, —In what manner shall we know the word which Yahweh hath not spoken!?,
22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
When the prophet shall speak in the name of Yahweh and the word shall not come to pass, neither shall come in, that, is the word which Yahweh, hath not spoken, —presumptuously, hath the prophet spoken it, thou shall not be in dread of him.
