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 Yhwh 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 brethren: Yhwh is their inheritance, as he hath said unto 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 unto 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 firstfruit also of thy grain, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou 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 Yhwh thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of Yhwh, 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 thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which Yhwh 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 Yhwh his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before Yhwh.
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 cometh 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 thou art come into the land which Yhwh thy God giveth thee, thou shalt 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 maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth 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 unto Yhwh: and because of these abominations Yhwh thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
It's because of these offensive things that the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with Yhwh thy God.
You are to be innocent of such things in the presence of the Lord your God.
14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, Yhwh thy God hath not suffered thee 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 Yhwh thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
The Lord your God will send you a prophet like me from your people. You must listen to him.
16 According to all that thou desiredst of Yhwh thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Yhwh 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 Yhwh said unto 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 brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto 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 whosoever will not hearken unto 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 thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which Yhwh hath not spoken?
You may be wondering, “How can we be sure that a message hasn't come from the Lord?”
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of Yhwh, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Yhwh hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt 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.
