Deuteronomy 18
1 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.
The priests, the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: the fire-offerings of the Lord, and his inheritance shall they consume.
2 While they don't own land among the other tribes, the Lord takes care of them, as he promised.
But any inheritance shall he not have among his brethren: the Lord is his inheritance, as he hath spoken unto him.
3 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.
And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from them that slay an animal, whether it be ox or lamb: then shall each one give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4 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.
The first-fruit of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thy oil, and the first shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
5 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.
For him the Lord thy God hath chosen out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, he and his sons all the days.
6 If a Levite is convinced he should move from any Israelite town and goes to the place the Lord will choose,
And if the Levite come from any one of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourneth, and come with all the longing of his soul unto the place which the Lord will choose:
7 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.
Then can he minister in the name of the Lord his God, like all his brethren the Levites, who stand there before the Lord.
8 They will all receive the same food allowances, despite him having received money from the sale of his father's property.
They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
9 Once you enter the country the Lord your God is giving you, don't copy the offensive ways of the nations there.
When thou comest into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There should be no one who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or fortune-telling, uses magic or sorcery,
There shall not be found among thee any one who causeth his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who useth divination, one who is an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a conjurer.
11 practices witchcraft, visits a medium or spiritist, or communicates with the dead. Anyone does such things offends the Lord.
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or who inquireth of the dead.
12 It's because of these offensive things that the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you.
For an abomination unto the Lord are all that do these things; and on account of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 You are to be innocent of such things in the presence of the Lord your God.
Perfect shalt thou be with the Lord thy God.
14 Even though these nations, whose land you will occupy, listen to magicians and fortune-tellers, the Lord your God forbids you to do so.
For these nations, which thou art about to dispossess, hearken unto observers of times, and unto diviners; but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not assigned the like unto thee.
15 The Lord your God will send you a prophet like me from your people. You must listen to him.
A prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, will the Lord thy God raise up unto thee; unto him shall ye hearken:
16 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!”
According to all that thou didst desire of the Lord thy God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, I wish no more to hear the voice of the Lord my God, and this great fire I wish not to see again, that I die not.
17 Then the Lord told me, “They are right in what they're saying.
And the Lord said unto me, They have done well in what they have spoken.
18 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.
A prophet will I raise up unto them from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I may command him.
19 I will deal with anyone who does not listen to my message that the prophet speaks in my name.
And it shall come to pass, that if there be a man who will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
20 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.”
But the prophet, who may presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who may speak in the name of other Gods even that prophet shall die.
21 You may be wondering, “How can we be sure that a message hasn't come from the Lord?”
And if thou shouldst say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 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.
That which the prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, and the thing do not happen and come not to pass— this is the word which the Lord hath not spoken; in presumption hath the prophet spoken it; thou shalt not be afraid of him.
