Deuteronomy 18
International Standard Version
Provision for the Descendants of Levi
18 “The Levitical priests—the whole tribe of Levi—will not have a portion or an inheritance within Israel. Instead, they will eat the burnt offerings of the Lord, because that is their inheritance. 2 But they will not have an inheritance among their relatives, because the Lord alone is their inheritance—as he promised them.”
Provision for the Priests
3 “A portion of what the people offer in sacrifice, whether cattle or sheep, is to be due the priests. They must set aside the shoulder, jowls, and stomach for the priest. 4 Give them the first gatherings of your grain, wine, and oil, as well as wool from the shearing of your flock. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants[a] from among your tribes to stand and serve in the name of the Lord all their lives.”[b]
Provision for the Itinerant Levite
6 “Any descendant of Levi who wishes to do so may come from any city or part of Israel where he resides to the place that the Lord will choose. 7 There he may serve in the name of the Lord his God. Like his fellow descendants of Levi who stand there in the Lord’s presence, 8 he may eat the same share as they do regardless of what he receives from his ancestral estate.”
Detestable Practices
9 “When you enter the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t learn the detestable practices of those nations there. 10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices[c] his son or daughter in fire, practices divination, interprets omens, practices sorcery, 11 casts spells, or who is a medium, an occultist, or a necromancer. 12 Whoever practices these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God will expel them before you because of these things. 13 You must be completely faithful to the Lord your God, 14 because those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to those who practice witchcraft and divination. But the Lord does not allow you to act this way.”
Discerning the True Prophet
15 “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him, 16 because this is what you asked from the Lord your God at Horeb when you were assembled together: ‘Don’t let us[d] hear the voice of the Lord our God again, or even see this great fire—otherwise, we[e] will die.’
17 “Then the Lord told me: ‘What they have suggested is good. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their relatives, and I will place my words in his mouth so that he may expound everything that I have commanded to them. 19 But if someone will not listen to those words that the prophet[f] speaks in my name, I will hold him accountable. 20 Even then, if the prophet speaks presumptuously in my name, which I didn’t authorize him to speak, or if he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.’ 21 Now you may ask yourselves, ‘How will we be able to discern that the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 Whenever a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come about or the word is not fulfilled, then the Lord has not spoken it. The prophet will have spoken presumptuously, so you need not fear him.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 18:5 Lit. sons
- Deuteronomy 18:5 Lit. days
- Deuteronomy 18:10 Lit. passes
- Deuteronomy 18:16 Lit. me
- Deuteronomy 18:16 Lit. I
- Deuteronomy 18:19 Lit. he
Deuteronomy 18
Lexham English Bible
18 “And there shall not be for the Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, a plot of ground and an inheritance with Israel, rather they may eat an offering made by fire as their inheritance,[a] for Yahweh. 2 And there shall not be for them[b] an inheritance of land in the midst of his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance, just as he promised[c] to them.[d]
3 Now this shall be the share of the priest from the people, from those who sacrifice the sacrifice,[e] whether it is an ox, sheep, or goat, and they shall give the priest the shoulder and the jawbones and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits[f] of your grain, your wine, and your olive oil and the firstfruits[g] of the fleece of your sheep you shall give to him. 5 For Yahweh your God has chosen him from among all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh, he and his sons forever.[h]
6 And if a[i] Levite comes from one of your towns[j] from anywhere in Israel[k] where he is residing, he may come whenever he desires,[l] to the place that Yahweh will choose, 7 and he may minister in the name of Yahweh his God, just like all his brothers, the Levites who stand there[m] before[n] Yahweh. 8 They shall eat equal portions,[o] apart from what he may receive from the sale of his patrimony.[p]
9 “When you come to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you must not learn to do like the detestable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or one who practices divination,[q] or an interpreter of signs,[r] or an augur,[s] or sorcerer, 11 or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults a spirit of the dead,[t] or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.[u] 12 For everyone doing these things is detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God is driving them out from before you.[v] 13 You must be blameless before Yahweh your God. 14 For these nations that you are about to dispossess listen to interpreters of signs[w] and to diviners, but Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do the same.
15 “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your countrymen,[x] and to him you shall listen. 16 This is according to all that you asked[y] from Yahweh your God at Horeb, on the day of the assembly, saying,[z] ‘I do not want again to hear[aa] the voice of Yahweh my God, and I do not want to see again this great fire, so that I may not die!’ 17 And Yahweh said to me, ‘They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up a prophet for them from among their countrymen[ab] like you, and I will place[ac] my words into his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him.[ad] 19 And then[ae] the man that will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I will hold accountable. 20 However, the prophet that behaves presumptuously by speaking a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say to yourself,[af] ‘How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?’ 22 Whenever what the prophet spoke in the name of Yahweh, the thing does not take place and does not come about, that is the thing that Yahweh has not spoken to him.[ag] Presumptuously the prophet spoke it; you shall not fear that[ah] prophet.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 18:1 The meaning of the Hebrew text here is uncertain; possibly it reads: “rather an offering by fire then they will eat as their inheritance/patrimony”
- Deuteronomy 18:2 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 18:2 Literally “spoke”
- Deuteronomy 18:2 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 18:3 Literally “the sacrificers of the sacrifice”
- Deuteronomy 18:4 Hebrew “firstfruit”
- Deuteronomy 18:4 Hebrew “firstfruit”
- Deuteronomy 18:5 Literally “all of the days”
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Hebrew “the”
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Literally “all of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Literally “he may come in all the desire of his soul/inner self”
- Deuteronomy 18:7 Literally “the Levites the ones standing there”
- Deuteronomy 18:7 Literally “to the face of”
- Deuteronomy 18:8 Literally “a portion like a portion”
- Deuteronomy 18:8 Hebrew meaning of these phrases/words is not certain; also could translate as “except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates” (NASB); or “what he may inherit from his father’s family”
- Deuteronomy 18:10 Literally “a diviner of divination”
- Deuteronomy 18:10 Or “soothsayer”
- Deuteronomy 18:10 Or “an interpreter of omens”
- Deuteronomy 18:11 Or “medium”
- Deuteronomy 18:11 Or “necromancer”
- Deuteronomy 18:12 Literally “the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 18:14 Or “practice witchcraft”
- Deuteronomy 18:15 Or “your brothers”
- Deuteronomy 18:16 Literally “just as all of that you asked”
- Deuteronomy 18:16 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 18:16 Literally “not I want to do again to hear”
- Deuteronomy 18:18 Literally “from the midst of their brothers”
- Deuteronomy 18:18 Or “give”
- Deuteronomy 18:18 Literally “all of what I command him”
- Deuteronomy 18:19 Literally “And it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 18:21 Literally “in your heart”
- Deuteronomy 18:22 Or “that Yahweh has not spoken it”
- Deuteronomy 18:22 Hebrew “the”
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