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Deuteronomy 18:1-2
New English Translation
Deuteronomy 18:1-2
New English Translation
Provision for Priests and Levites
18 The Levitical priests[a]—indeed, the entire tribe of Levi—will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance.[b] 2 They[c] will have no inheritance in the midst of their fellow Israelites;[d] the Lord alone is their inheritance, just as he had told them.
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- Deuteronomy 18:1 tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.
- Deuteronomy 18:1 sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 18:2 tn Heb “he” (and throughout the verse).
- Deuteronomy 18:2 tn Heb “brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NASB “their countrymen”; NRSV “the other members of the community.”
New English Translation (NET)
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