Deuteronomy 18
1 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.
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 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brothers: the LORD is their inheritance, 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 shall be the priest’s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
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 The first fruit also of your corn, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him.
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 the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.
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 come from any of your gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD shall choose;
If a Levite is convinced he should move from any Israelite town and goes to the place the Lord will choose,
7 Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brothers the Levites do, which stand 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 They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which comes of the sale of his patrimony.
They will all receive the same food allowances, despite him having received money from the sale of his father's property.
9 When you are come into the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations 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 There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
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 a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
practices witchcraft, visits a medium or spiritist, or communicates with the dead. Anyone does such things offends the Lord.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God does drive them out from before you.
It's because of these offensive things that the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you.
13 You shall be perfect with the LORD your God.
You are to be innocent of such things in the presence of the Lord your God.
14 For these nations, which you shall possess, listened to observers of times, and to diviners: but as for you, the LORD your God has not suffered you so to do.
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 raise up to you a Prophet from the middle of you, of your brothers, like to me; to him you shall listen;
The Lord your God will send you a prophet like me from your people. You must listen to him.
16 According to all that you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
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 And the LORD said to me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Then the Lord told me, “They are right in what they're saying.
18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brothers, like to you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.
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 it shall come to pass, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
I will deal with anyone who does not listen to my message that the prophet speaks in my name.
20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
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 heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?
You may be wondering, “How can we be sure that a message hasn't come from the Lord?”
22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid 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.
