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”
Deuteronomy 18
New Living Translation
Gifts for the Priests and Levites
18 “Remember that the Levitical priests—that is, the whole of the tribe of Levi—will receive no allotment of land among the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the special gifts given to the Lord, for that is their share. 2 They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The Lord himself is their special possession, just as he promised them.
3 “These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the cattle, sheep, and goats that the people bring as offerings: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time. 5 For the Lord your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the Lord’s name forever.
6 “Suppose a Levite chooses to move from his town in Israel, wherever he is living, to the place the Lord chooses for worship. 7 He may minister there in the name of the Lord his God, just like all his fellow Levites who are serving the Lord there. 8 He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he also receives support from his family.
A Call to Holy Living
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.[a] And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
True and False Prophets
15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai.[b] You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 20 But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’
21 “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
