Deuteronomy 18
1 The priests, the Levites, that is, all the tribe of Levi, will have no part or heritage with Israel: their food and their heritage will be the offerings of the Lord made by fire.
The Levitical priests, in fact the whole tribe of Levi, will not have a share in the land allotment with the other Israelites. They are to eat from the food offerings presented to the Lord—that is what they are entitled to receive.
2 And they will have no heritage among their countrymen: the Lord is their heritage, as he has said to them.
While they don't own land among the other tribes, the Lord takes care of them, as he promised.
3 And this is to be the priests' right: those who make an offering of a sheep or an ox are to give to the priest the top part of the leg and the two sides of the head and the stomach.
The priests' share of a sacrifice of a bull or a sheep that is brought by the people is as follows. The priests are to be given the shoulder, the jaw, and the insides.
4 And in addition you are to give him the first of your grain and wine and oil, and the first wool cut from your sheep.
You are to provide them with the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the first wool sheared from your flock.
5 For he, and his sons after him for ever, have been marked out by the Lord your God from all your tribes, to do the work of priests in the name of the Lord.
For the Lord your God has chosen Levi and his descendants from all your tribes to stand before him and serve in his name forever.
6 And if a Levite, moved by a strong desire, comes from any town in all Israel where he is living to the place marked out by the Lord;
If a Levite is convinced he should move from any Israelite town and goes to the place the Lord will choose,
7 Then he will do the work of a priest in the name of the Lord his God, with all his brothers the Levites who are there before the Lord.
then he shall be allowed to serve in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there in service before the Lord.
8 His food will be the same as theirs, in addition to what has come to him as the price of his property.
They will all receive the same food allowances, despite him having received money from the sale of his father's property.
9 When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, do not take as your example the disgusting ways of those nations.
Once you enter the country the Lord your God is giving you, don't copy the offensive ways of the nations there.
10 Let there not be seen among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or anyone using secret arts, or a maker of strange sounds, or a reader of signs, or any wonder-worker,
There should be no one who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or fortune-telling, uses magic or sorcery,
11 Or anyone using secret force on people, or putting questions to a spirit, or having secret knowledge, or going to the dead for directions.
practices witchcraft, visits a medium or spiritist, or communicates with the dead. Anyone does such things offends the Lord.
12 For all who do such things are disgusting to the Lord; and because of these disgusting things the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
It's because of these offensive things that the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you.
13 You are to be upright in heart before the Lord your God.
You are to be innocent of such things in the presence of the Lord your God.
14 For these nations, whose land you are taking, give attention to readers of signs and to those using secret arts: but the Lord your God will not let you do so.
Even though these nations, whose land you will occupy, listen to magicians and fortune-tellers, the Lord your God forbids you to do so.
15 The Lord your God will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to him;
The Lord your God will send you a prophet like me from your people. You must listen to him.
16 In answer to the request you made to the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the great meeting, when you said, Let not the voice of the Lord my God come to my ears again, and let me not see this great fire any more, or death will overtake me.
Remember what you told the Lord your God at Horeb when you were all assembled there. You said, “Please don't let us go on hearing the Lord our God speak to us, or see this terrifying fire anymore! Otherwise we're going to die!”
17 Then the Lord said to me, What they have said is well said.
Then the Lord told me, “They are right in what they're saying.
18 I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say.
I'm going to send them a prophet like you from their people. I will give him my messages, and he will tell them everything I order him to say.
19 And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me.
I will deal with anyone who does not listen to my message that the prophet speaks in my name.
20 But the prophet who takes it on himself to say words in my name which I have not given him orders to say, or who says anything in the name of other gods, will come to his death.
However, if any prophet claims to be delivering a message in my name that I have not ordered him to give, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must be executed.”
21 And if you say in your hearts, How are we to be certain that the word does not come from the Lord?
You may be wondering, “How can we be sure that a message hasn't come from the Lord?”
22 When a prophet makes a statement in the name of the Lord, if what he says does not take place and his words do not come true, then his word is not the word of the Lord: the words of the prophet were said in the pride of his heart, and you are to have no fear of him.
When a prophet speaks in the Lord's name and what he says doesn't happen or come true, then that is a not a message from the Lord. The prophet has spoken with contempt for the Lord. Don't be intimidated by him.
