Shares for Priests and Levites

18 The priests are from the tribe of Levi, and that tribe will not ·receive a share of the land [^Lhave an allotment or inheritance] with the Israelites. They will eat the offerings made to the Lord by fire, which is their ·share [^Linheritance]. ² They will not inherit any of the land like their brothers [Num. 26:62; Josh. 13:14; 14:4–5; 21], but they will inherit the Lord himself [10:9; Ex. 32:25–29; Josh. 18:7], as he has promised them.

³ When you offer a bull or sheep as a sacrifice, you must share with the priests, giving them the shoulder, the ·cheeks [jowls], and the ·inner organs [stomach]. ⁴ Give them the first of your grain, new wine, and oil, as well as the first wool you cut from your sheep. ⁵ The Lord your God has chosen the priests and their ·descendants [sons] out of all your tribes to stand and serve ·the [^Lin the name of the] Lord ·always [^Lall their days; 33:8–11].

⁶ If a Levite moves from one of your ·towns [^Lgates] anywhere in Israel where he ·lives [resides; sojourns] and comes to the place the Lord will choose [12:4–7], because ·he wants [^Lhis soul desires] to serve the Lord there, ⁷ he may serve ·the [^Lthe name of the] Lord his God. He will be like his ·fellow [^Lbrother] Levites who ·serve [^Lstand] there before the Lord. ⁸ They all will have an equal share of the food. That is separate from what he has received from the sale of family possessions.

Do Not Follow Other Nations

⁹ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, don’t learn to do the ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] things the other nations do. ¹⁰ Don’t let anyone among you offer a son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire [12:30–31]. Don’t let anyone use ·magic [divination; Ex. 7:11; Ezek. 21:21] or witchcraft, or ·try to explain the meaning of signs [augury or sorcery]. ¹¹ Don’t let anyone ·try to control others with magic [cast spells], and don’t let them ·be mediums [consult/inquire of ghosts or spirits] or try to ·talk with the spirits of [consult] dead people [1 Sam. 28]. ¹² The Lord ·hates [detests] anyone who does these things. Because the other nations do these things, the Lord your God will ·force [dispossess] them out of the land ahead of you. ¹³ But you must be ·innocent [blameless] in the presence of the Lord your God.

The Lord’s Special Prophet

¹⁴ The nations you will ·force out [dispossess] listen to people who use ·magic [divination] and witchcraft, but the Lord your God will not let you do those things. ¹⁵ The Lord your God will ·give [^Lraise up for] you a prophet like me, who is one of your own ·people [relatives; brothers; ^Cultimately Jesus]. Listen to him [Acts 3:25–26; 7:37]. ¹⁶ This is what you asked the Lord your God to do when you were ·gathered [assembled] at ·Mount Sinai [Horeb; 1:6]. You said, “Don’t make ·us [^Lme] listen to the voice of the Lord ·our [^Lmy] God again, and don’t make ·us [^Lme] look at this ·terrible [great] fire anymore, or ·we [^LI] will die [5:23–27].”

¹⁷ So the Lord said to me, “What they have said is good. ¹⁸ So I will ·give [^Lraise up for] them a prophet like you, who is one of their own ·people [relatives; brothers]. I will ·tell him what to say [^Lput my words in his mouth], and he will tell them everything I command. ¹⁹ This prophet will speak for me; anyone who does not listen when he speaks in my name will ·answer [be accountable] to me. ²⁰ But if a prophet ·says something I did not tell him to say as though he were speaking for me [^Lspeaks presumptuously in my name a word I did not command him to speak], or if a prophet speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must be killed [Jer. 28:15–17].”

²¹ You might be ·thinking [^Lsaying in your heart/mind], “How can we know if a message is not from the Lord?” ²² If what a prophet says in the name of the Lord does not happen, it is not the Lord’s message. That prophet was speaking ·his own ideas [presumptuously]. Don’t be afraid of him.