Deuteronomy 18

1 “The priests, who are all from the tribe of Levi, will not receive any land in Israel. Instead, they will receive some of the food that other people offer to be burned [on the altar to be sacrificed] to Yahweh and some of the other sacrifices that will be offered to Yahweh.

Lewifo Asɔfo no, nokware Lewi abusuakuw nyinaa no, nni kyɛfa ne agyapade biara wɔ Israelman mu te sɛ mmusuakuw a wɔaka no. Wobedi aduan afɔre a wɔbɔ ma Awurade no bi, efisɛ wonni agyapade.

2 They will not be allotted any land like the other tribes will be. What they will receive is the work/privilege of being Yahweh’s [priests], which is what he said that they should have.

Israelfo mu de, wɔrennya agyapade biara sɛ wɔn ankasa kyɛfa. Awurade ankasa bɛyɛ wɔn kyɛfa sɛnea ɔhyɛɛ wɔn bɔ no.

3 “When the people bring an ox or a sheep to be sacrificed, they must give to the priests the shoulder, the cheeks/jaws, and the stomach of those animals.

Eyi ne kyɛfa a asɔfo no benya afi nantwi ne oguan a nnipa no de bɛbɔ afɔre no mu: ne mmati, nʼabogye ne nʼayamde.

4 You must also give to them the first part of the grain that you [harvest], and the first part of the wine [that you make], and the first part of the [olive] oil [that you make], and the first part of the wool that you shear from your sheep.

Afei, momma wɔn mo atokokan mu ade, nsa foforo ne ngo ne nwi a edi kan a wotwitwa fi mo nguan ho no.

5 You must do this because Yahweh our God has chosen the tribe of Levi from all of your tribes, in order that men [from that tribe] would always be the priests who would serve him.

Efisɛ Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, apaw Lewifo ne wɔn asefo afi mo mmusuakuw nyinaa mu sɛ wonnyina, nsom daa wɔ Awurade din mu.

6 “If any man from the tribe of Levi [who has been living] in one of the towns in Israel wants to come from there to the place of worship that Yahweh has chosen, [and start living there],

Sɛ Lewini bi pɛ na ofi mo nkurow no mu biara a ɔte so wɔ Israel kɔ baabi a Awurade ayi a,

7 he is permitted to serve Yahweh there as a priest, just like the other men from the tribe of Levi who have been serving there.

otumi som wɔ Awurade, ne Nyankopɔn, din mu te sɛnea ne nkurɔfo Lewifo a wɔsom wɔ hɔ wɔ Awurade anim no yɛ no ara.

8 He must be given the same amount of food [that the other priests receive]. He is permitted to keep the money [that his relatives give him] for selling some of their possessions.

Sɛ mpo wanya sika bi afi abusua agyapade bi tɔn mu a, wɔde ne kyɛfa a ɛwɔ afɔrebɔde no mu sɛ Lewini no bɛma no sɛ asɛde.

9 When you enter the land that Yahweh our God is giving you, you must not imitate the disgusting things that the people-groups who are there now do.

Sɛ munya du asase a Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, de rema mo no so a, monhwɛ yiye na moansua amanaman a ɛwɔ hɔ no amanne a ɛyɛ akyiwade no.

10 You must not sacrifice any of your children by burning them [on your altars]. Do not practice (divination/using supernatural power to reveal [what will happen in] the future). Do not do/practice (soothsaying/magic to find out what will happen in the future). Do not (interpret omens/say that because of something that you have seen you know what will happen). Do not practice sorcery/witchcraft. Do not practice (putting spells on people/saying things to cause bad things to happen to others).

Mommma wonhu sɛ mo mu bi de ne babarima anaa ne babea abɔ ɔhyew afɔre. Na mommma mo nnipa no nyɛ akɔmfo a wɔhyɛ abosom nkɔm, abayifo ne abisakɔfo, ne ntafowayifo

11 Do not try to talk with spirits of dead people. Do not do/practice magic.

ne nkaberekyerefo ne samanfrɛfo, osumanni a ɔfrɛ ɔsaman.

12 Yahweh hates people who do any of those disgusting things. And as you advance through that land, he is going to expel the people-groups because they do/practice those disgusting things.

Obiara a ɔyɛ saa ade yi bi no yɛ Awurade akyiwade na saa akyiwade yi nti na Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, bɛpam saa aman no afi mo anim.

13 But you must always avoid doing any of those things.

Monyɛ pɛ wɔ Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, anim.

14 The people-groups that you are about to expel [from the land that you will occupy] (consult/seek advice from) soothsayers and those who practice divination. But as for you, Yahweh our God does not allow you to do that.

Aman a morekotu wɔn yi tie wɔn a wɔpɛ abayisɛm ne nkɔmhyɛnsɛm. Nanso mo de, Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, mmaa mo kwan sɛ monyɛ saa ɛ.

15 [Some day] he will send from among you a prophet like me. [He is the one who will tell you what will happen in the future], and he is the one whom you must heed.

Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, beyi odiyifo a ɔte sɛ me afi mo Israelfo yi ara mu. Ɛsɛ sɛ moyɛ osetie ma no.

16 On the day that your ancestors were gathered at the bottom of Sinai Mountain, they pleaded with me saying, ‘We do not want Yahweh to speak [MTY] to us again, and we do not want to see this huge fire [that is burning on the mountain]!’ [Your ancestors said that because they were afraid] that they would die [if Yahweh spoke to them again].

Eyi ne nea mo ankasa mobisaa Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, bere a muhyiaa wɔ Horeb no. Mosrɛɛ sɛ mompɛ sɛ mote Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn no, nne anaa muhu ogyaframa bio, efisɛ musuro sɛ anhwɛ a, mubewuwu.

17 Then Yahweh said to me, ‘What they have said is true/wise.

Na Awurade buae se, “Mɛyɛ wɔn abisade ama wɔn.

18 So I will send from among them a prophet who will be like you. I will tell him what to say, and then he will tell people everything that I tell him to say.

Mɛda odiyifo te sɛ wo adi afi wɔn nkurɔfo Israelfo mu. Mede me nsɛm bɛhyɛ nʼanom, na ɔbɛka biribiara a mɛhyɛ wɔn no akyerɛ wɔn.

19 He will speak for me. And I will punish anyone who does not heed what he says.

Mʼankasa me ne obiara a wantie asɛm a odiyifo no bɛka wɔ me din mu no bedi.

20 But if any other [person says that he is a] prophet [and] dares to speak a message which he falsely says comes from me but which I did not tell him to speak, or if anyone who speaks a message that he says other gods [MTY] have revealed to him, he must be executed [for doing that].’

Na odiyifo biara bɛpatuw aka nea menhyɛe, anaa ɔnam onyame foforo bi din so ka asɛm no, ɛsɛ sɛ wokum no.”

21 But if you say to yourself, ‘How can we know if a message [that someone tells us] does not come from Yahweh?’

Mubebisa mo ho se, “Ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na yɛahu sɛ adiyisɛm no fi Awurade anaasɛ emfi no?”

22 [The answer is that] when someone speaks a message [about what will happen in the future], a message that he says was revealed by Yahweh, if what he says does not happen, [you will know that] the message did not come from Yahweh. That person has wrongly claimed that it was revealed to him by Yahweh. So you do not need to be afraid of [anything that] he [says].”

Sɛ odiyifo no hyɛ nkɔm wɔ Awurade din mu na amma mu a, na ɛnyɛ Awurade na ɔde asɛm no mae. Na ɛkyerɛ sɛ, saa odiyifo no ara kaa ɔno ankasa nʼasɛm bi kwa enti ɛnsɛ sɛ musuro.