Deuteronomy 18

1 The Priests of the Leuites, and all the tribe of Leui shall haue no part nor inheritace with Israel, but shall eate the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance.

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 Therefore shall they haue no inheritance among their brethren: for the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath sayd vnto them.

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

3 And this shalbe the Priests duetie of the people, that they, which offer sacrifice, whether it be bullocke or sheepe, shall giue vnto the Priest the shoulder, and the two cheekes, and the mawe.

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 The first fruites also of thy corne, of thy wine, and of thine oyle, and the first of the fleece of thy sheepe shalt thou giue him.

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

5 For the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stande and minister in the Name of the Lord, him, and his sonnes for euer.

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 Also when a Leuite shall come out of any of thy cities of all Israel, where hee remained, and come with all the desire of his heart vnto the place, which the Lord shall chuse,

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 then minister in the Name of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Leuites, which remaine there before the Lord.

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

8 They shall haue like portions to eat beside that which commeth of his sale of his patrimonie.

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

9 When thou shalt come into ye land which the Lord thy God giueth thee, thou shalt not learne to do after ye 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 Let none be founde among you that maketh his sonne or his daughter to goe thorough the fire, or that vseth witchcraft, or a regarder of times, or a marker of the flying of foules, or a sorcerer,

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 Or a charmer, or that counselleth with spirits, or a soothsaier, or that asketh counsel at ye dead.

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

12 For all that doe such things are abomination vnto the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doeth cast them out before thee.

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 vpright therefore with the Lord thy God.

You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

14 For these nations which thou shalt possesse, hearken vnto those that regarde the times, and vnto sorcerers: as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffred thee so.

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 will raise vp vnto thee a Prophet like vnto me, from among you, euen of thy brethren: vnto him ye shall hearken,

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 al that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb, in the day of the assemblie, when thou saidest, Let me heare the voice of my Lord God no more, nor see this great fire any more, that I die not.

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 sayde vnto me, They haue well spoken.

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

18 I will raise them vp a Prophet from among their brethren like vnto thee, and will put my woordes in his mouth, and he shall speake vnto them all that I shall commaund 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 whosoeuer will not hearken vnto my wordes, which he shall speake in my Name, I will require it of 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 that shall presume to speake a worde in my name, which I haue not commanded him to speake, or that speaketh in the name of other gods, euen the same 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 And if thou thinke in thine heart, Howe shall we knowe the worde which the Lord hath not spoken?

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

22 When a prophet speaketh in the Name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to passe, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not therefore be afraid of 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.