Deuteronomy 18
New American Standard Bible
Portion for the Levites
18 “(A)The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His [a]property. 2 (B)They shall not have an inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He [b]promised them.
3 “(C)Now this shall be the priests’ portion from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep: they shall give the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You shall give him the (D)first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep. 5 (E)For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to (F)stand to serve in the name of the Lord always.
6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your [c]towns throughout Israel where he (G)resides, and he comes [d]whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, 7 then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 (H)They shall eat [e]equal portions, except for what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.
Spiritism Forbidden
9 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to [f](I)imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone (J)who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a (K)soothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, (L)or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and (M)because of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you. 13 (N)You are to be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations, which you are going to dispossess, listen to (O)soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.
15 “(P)The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen. 16 This is (Q)in accordance with everything that you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again, and do not let me see this great fire anymore, or I will die!’ 17 And (R)the Lord said to me, ‘They have [g]spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and (S)I will put My words in his mouth, and (T)he shall speak to them everything that I command him. 19 (U)And it shall come about that whoever does not listen to My words which he speaks in My name, I Myself will [h]require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word (V)presumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or (W)which he speaks in the name of other gods, [i]that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 (X)When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it (Y)presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 18:1 Or inheritance
- Deuteronomy 18:2 Lit spoke to
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Lit with all the desire of his soul
- Deuteronomy 18:8 Lit portion like portion
- Deuteronomy 18:9 Lit do as
- Deuteronomy 18:17 Lit done well what they have spoken
- Deuteronomy 18:19 I.e., hold him responsible
- Deuteronomy 18:20 Lit then that
Deuteronomy 18
Christian Standard Bible
Provisions for the Levites
18 “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat the Lord’s food offerings; that is their[a][b] inheritance. 2 Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the Lord is his inheritance, as he promised him.(A) 3 This is the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach. 4 You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil,(B) and the first sheared wool of your flock. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in his name from now on.[c] 6 When a Levite leaves one of your towns in Israel where he was staying and wants to go to the place the Lord chooses, 7 he may serve in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who minister there in the presence of the Lord. 8 They will eat equal portions besides what he has received from the sale of the family estate.[d](C)
Occult Practices versus Prophetic Revelation
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations.(D) 10 No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire,[e](E) practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, 11 cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or inquire of the dead.(F) 12 Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do this.
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.(G) You must listen to him. 16 This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die!’ (H) 17 Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.(I) 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet must die.’ 21 You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
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