Deuteronomy 18

1 The priests, the Levites, even the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; the burnt-offerings of the Lord [are] their inheritance, they shall eat them.

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.

2 And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord himself [is] his portion, as he said to him.

Although they have no inheritance among their brothers, the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.

3 And this [is] the due of the priests in the things coming from the people from those who offer sacrifices, whether it be a calf or a sheep; and thou shalt give the shoulder to the priest, and the cheeks, and the great intestine:

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.

4 and the first-fruits of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thine oil; and thou shalt give to him the first-fruits of the fleeces of thy sheep:

You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.

5 because the Lord has chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand before the Lord thy God, to minister and bless in his name, himself and his sons among the children of Israel.

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.

6 And if a Levite come from one of the cities of all the children of Israel, where he himself dwells, accordingly as his mind desires, to the place which he shall have chosen,

Now if a Levite moves from any town of residence throughout Israel and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,

7 he shall minister to the name of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites, who stand there present before the Lord thy God.

then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD.

8 He shall eat an allotted portion, besides the sale of his hereditary property.

They shall eat equal portions, even though he has received money from the sale of his father’s estate.

9 And when thou shalt have entered into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations.

When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

10 There shall not be found in thee one who purges his son or his daughter with fire, one who uses divination, who deals with omens, and augury,

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

11 a sorcerer employing incantation, one who has in him a divining spirit, and observer of signs, questioning the dead.

casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.

12 For every one that does these things is an abomination to the Lord thy God; for because of these abominations the Lord will destroy them from before thy face.

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.

13 Thou shalt be perfect before the Lord thy God.

You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

14 For all these nations whose [land] thou shalt inherit, they will listen to omens and divinations; but the Lord thy God has not permitted thee so [to do].

Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

15 The Lord thy God shall raise up to thee a prophet of thy brethren, like me; him shall ye hear:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

16 according to all things which thou didst desire of the Lord thy God in Choreb in the day of the assembly, saying, We will not again hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and we will not any more see this great fire, and [so] we shall not die.

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!”

17 And the Lord said to me, They have spoken rightly all that they have said to thee.

Then the LORD said to me, “They have spoken well.

18 I will raise up to them a prophet of their brethren, like thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them as I shall command him.

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.

19 And whatever man shall not hearken to whatsoever words that prophet shall speak in my name, I will take vengeance on him.

And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.

20 But the prophet whosoever shall impiously speak in my name a word which I have not commanded him to speak, and whosoever shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

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.”

21 But if thou shalt say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?

You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?”

22 Whatsoever words that prophet shall speak in the name of the Lord, and they shall not come true, and not come to pass, this [is] the thing which the Lord has not spoken; that prophet has spoken wickedly: ye shall not spare him.

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.