Add parallel Print Page Options

The Share of the Priests

18 “The priestly tribe of Levi is not to receive any share of land in Israel; instead, they are to live on the offerings and other sacrifices given to the Lord. (A)They are to own no land, as the other tribes do; their share is the privilege of being the Lord's priests, as the Lord has promised.

“Whenever cattle or sheep are sacrificed, the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jaw, and the stomach. They are to receive the first share of the grain, wine, olive oil, and wool. The Lord chose from all your tribes the tribe of Levi to serve him as priests forever.

“Any Levite who wants to may come from any town in Israel to the one place of worship and may serve there as a priest of the Lord his God, like the other Levites who are serving there. He is to receive the same amount of food as the other priests, and he may keep whatever his family sends him.[a]

Warning against Pagan Practices

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don't follow the disgusting practices of the nations that are there. 10 (B)Don't sacrifice your children in the fires on your altars; and don't let your people practice divination or look for omens or use spells 11 (C)or charms, and don't let them consult the spirits of the dead. 12 The Lord your God hates people who do these disgusting things, and that is why he is driving those nations out of the land as you advance. 13 (D)Be completely faithful to the Lord.”

The Promise to Send a Prophet

14 Then Moses said, “In the land you are about to occupy, people follow the advice of those who practice divination and look for omens, but the Lord your God does not allow you to do this. 15 (E)Instead, he will send you a prophet like me from among your own people, and you are to obey him.[b]

16 “On the day that you were gathered at Mount Sinai, you begged not to hear the Lord speak again or to see his fiery presence any more, because you were afraid you would die. 17 So the Lord said to me, ‘They have made a wise request. 18 I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he[c] will tell the people everything I command. 19 (F)He will speak in my name, and I[d] will punish anyone who refuses to obey him. 20 But if any prophet dares to speak a message in my name when I did not command him to do so, he must die for it, and so must any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods.’

21 “You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet's message does not come from the Lord. 22 If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says does not come true, then it is not the Lord's message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority, and you are not to fear him.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 18:8 Probable text and he may keep … sends him; Hebrew unclear.
  2. Deuteronomy 18:15 a prophet … him; or prophets … them.
  3. Deuteronomy 18:18 a prophet … him … he; or prophets … them … they.
  4. Deuteronomy 18:19 He will speak … and I; or When a prophet speaks in my name, I.

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical(A) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings(B) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.(C) They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(D) as he promised them.(E)

This is the share due the priests(F) from the people who sacrifice a bull(G) or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.(H) You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,(I) for the Lord your God has chosen them(J) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister(K) in the Lord’s name always.(L)

If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,(M) he may minister in the name(N) of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.(O)

Occult Practices

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate(P) the detestable ways(Q) of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,(R) who practices divination(S) or sorcery,(T) interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,(U) 11 or casts spells,(V) or who is a medium or spiritist(W) or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.(X) 13 You must be blameless(Y) before the Lord your God.(Z)

The Prophet

14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination.(AA) But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.(AB) You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”(AC)

17 The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet(AD) like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words(AE) in his mouth.(AF) He will tell them everything I command him.(AG) 19 I myself will call to account(AH) anyone who does not listen(AI) to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.(AJ) 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,(AK) is to be put to death.”(AL)

21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true,(AM) that is a message the Lord has not spoken.(AN) That prophet has spoken presumptuously,(AO) so do not be alarmed.