Teutalonome 18

1 “E ʻikai maʻu ʻe he kau taulaʻeiki ko e kau Livai, pea mo e faʻahinga kotoa pē ʻo Livai, ha tufakanga pe ha tofiʻa fakataha mo ʻIsileli: tenau kai ʻae ngaahi feilaulau kuo ngaohi ʻaki ʻae afi kia Sihova, mo hono tofiʻa ʻoʻona.

“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.

2 Ko ia ʻe ʻikai tenau maʻu ai ha tofiʻa mo honau ngaahi kāinga: ko Sihova ko honau tofiʻa ʻo hangē ko ʻene folofola kiate kinautolu.

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.

3 “Pea ko hono ʻinasi eni ʻoe taulaʻeiki mei he kakai, meiate kinautolu ʻoku ʻatu ha feilaulau, kapau ko e pulu pe ko e sipi; pea tenau ʻatu ki he taulaʻeiki hono alanga muʻa, mo hono kouʻahe fakatouʻosi pe, mo e kete.

“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.

4 Ko e ʻuluaki fua ʻo hoʻo uite, mo hoʻo uaine, pea mo hoʻo lolo foki, mo e ʻuluaki fulufuluʻi sipi kuo kosi, ke ke ʻatu kiate ia.

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.

5 He kuo fili ia ʻe Sihova ko ho ʻOtua mei ho ngaahi faʻahinga kotoa pē, ke tuʻu mo tauhi ʻi he huafa ʻo Sihova, ʻaia mo hono ngaahi foha ke taʻengata.

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.

6 “Pea kapau ʻe haʻu ha Livai mei ha kolo ʻe taha ʻi ʻIsileli kotoa pē, ʻaia naʻe nofo ʻāunofo ai ia, pea haʻu ia ʻi he holi lahi ʻa hono loto ki he potu ʻaia ʻe fili ʻe Sihova;

“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],

7 ‌ʻE toki tauhi ʻe ia ʻi he huafa ʻo Sihova ko hono ʻOtua, ʻo hangē ko hono kāinga kotoa pē ʻi he kau Livai, ʻakinautolu ʻoku tuʻu ʻi he ʻao ʻo Sihova.

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.

8 Tenau ʻinasi tatau pe ʻi he meʻakai, neongo ʻa ʻene meʻa ʻaʻana ʻaia ʻoku tupu ʻi he fakatau ʻa hono tofiʻa.

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.

9 “ʻOka ke ka hoko atu ki he fonua ʻaia ʻoku foaki kiate koe ʻe Sihova ko ho ʻOtua, ʻoua naʻa ke ako ke fai ʻo hangē ko e ngaahi meʻa fakalielia ʻoe ngaahi kakai ko ia.

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.

10 ‌ʻOua naʻa ʻilo ha tokotaha ʻiate kimoutolu ʻoku tuku ʻa hono foha pe ko hono ʻofefine ke ʻalu atu ʻi he afi, pe ʻoku fai ʻae tuki, pe ʻoku tokanga ki he ngaahi kuonga, pe ko e fai meʻa mana loi, pe ko e taula fakafaʻahikehe.

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).

11 Pe ko e tokotaha ʻoku kākā, pe kumi ki he laumālie kovi, pe ko e fieʻiloʻilo, pe ko ia ʻoku kumi ki he mate.

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

12 He ko kinautolu kotoa pē ʻoku fai ʻae ngaahi meʻa ni ʻoku kovi lahi kia Sihova: pea ko e meʻa ʻi he ngaahi meʻa kovi lahi ni ʻoku kapusi ai ʻakinautolu ʻe Sihova ko ho ʻOtua mei ho ʻao.

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.

13 Ke ke angatonu koe kia Sihova ko ho ʻOtua.

But you must always avoid doing any of those things.

14 He ko e ngaahi puleʻanga, ʻaia ke ke hoko ʻo maʻu, naʻe fakaongo ki he kau tokanga ki he ngaahi kuonga, mo e kau kikite: ka ko koe, naʻe ʻikai tuku koe ʻe Sihova ko ho ʻOtua ke fai pehē.

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.

15 “ʻE fokotuʻu ʻe Sihova ko ho ʻOtua ha palōfita kiate koe, ʻi ho ngaahi kāinga, ʻo hangē ko au; ke mou tokanga kiate ia;

[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.

16 ‌ʻO fakatatau ki he meʻa kotoa pē naʻa ke holi ki ai kia Sihova ko ho ʻOtua ʻi Holepi ʻi he ʻaho ʻoe fakataha, ʻo pehē, ʻoua naʻaku toe ongoʻi ʻae leʻo ʻo Sihova ko hoku ʻOtua, pea ʻoua naʻaku toe mamata ki he afi lahi ni, telia naʻaku mate.

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].

17 Pea naʻe folofola ʻa Sihova kiate au, ‘ʻOku lelei ʻaia kuo nau lea ki ai.

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

18 Te u fokotuʻu kiate kinautolu ha Palōfita ʻi honau kāinga, ʻo hangē ko koe, pea te u ʻai ʻeku ngaahi lea ʻi hono ngutu; pea ʻe lea ʻaki ʻe ia kiate kinautolu ʻaia kotoa pē te u fekau kiate ia.

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.

19 Pea ʻe hoko ʻo pehē, ko ia fulipē ʻe ʻikai tokanga ki heʻeku ngaahi lea ʻaia ʻe lea ʻaki ʻe ia ʻi hoku huafa, teu ʻeke ia kiate ia.

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

20 Ka ko e palōfita ko ia, ʻaia ʻoku fielahi pea lea ia ʻi hoku huafa, ʻaia naʻe ʻikai te u fekau kiate ia ke lea, pe lea ia ʻi he hingoa ʻoe ngaahi ʻotua kehe, ʻe tāmateʻi ʻae palōfita ko ia.’

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].’

21 Pea kapau ʻoku ke pehē ʻi ho loto, Te mau ʻilo fēfeeʻi ʻae lea ʻaia naʻe ʻikai folofolaʻaki ʻe Sihova?

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

22 ‌ʻOka lea ʻae palōfita ʻi he huafa ʻo Sihova, ka ʻoku ʻikai muimui hano fakamoʻoni pe hoko ia, ko eni ʻae meʻa naʻe ʻikai folofolaʻaki ʻe Sihova, ka kuo lea fielahi ʻaki ia ʻe he palōfita: ʻe ʻikai te ke manavahē kiate ia.

[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].”