Deuteronomy 18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Privileges of Priests and Levites
18 “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no allotment or inheritance within Israel. They may eat the offerings by fire[a] that are the Lord’s portion,[b](A) 2 but they shall have no inheritance among the other members of the community; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3 “This shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the two jowls, and the stomach.(B) 4 The first fruits of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.(C) 5 For the Lord your God has chosen Levi[c] out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.(D)
6 “If a Levite leaves any of your towns, from wherever he has been residing in Israel, and comes to the place that the Lord will choose (and he may come whenever he wishes), 7 then he may minister in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow-Levites who stand to minister there before the Lord. 8 They shall have equal portions to eat, even though they have income from the sale of family possessions.[d](E)
Child-Sacrifice, Divination, and Magic Prohibited
9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn to imitate the abhorrent practices of those nations.(F) 10 No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer,(G) 11 or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord; it is because of such abhorrent practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.(H) 13 You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God. 14 Although these nations that you are about to dispossess do give heed to soothsayers and diviners, as for you, the Lord your God does not permit you to do so.
A New Prophet Like Moses
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.[e](I) 16 This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’(J) 17 Then the Lord replied to me, ‘They are right in what they have said.(K) 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet,[f] who shall speak to them everything that I command.(L) 19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet[g] shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.(M) 20 But any prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’(N) 21 You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.(O)
Deuteronomy 18
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Inheritance of the Levites
18 The priests, who are Levites, as well as the whole tribe of Levi, will not have any allotted inheritance with Israel. They will eat from the offerings made to the Lord by fire,[a] which is their inheritance.
2 So they will not have an inheritance among their brothers. The Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3 This then will be the prescribed allotment for the priests from the people who offer sacrifices, whether an ox or a sheep: They are to give to the priests the shoulder, both cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You are also to give them the firstfruits from your grain, your new wine, your fresh oil, and the first fleece from your flock. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen them from all of your tribes to stand in service in the name of the Lord—them and their sons for all time.
6 When a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel where he resides, and whenever he follows his heart’s desire and comes to the place that the Lord will choose, 7 and he serves in the name of the Lord your God, standing there before the Lord like all of his fellow Levites, 8 then he may eat the same portion, regardless of any income he received from selling family property.
9 When you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to practice anything like the abominations of those nations. 10 Let no one be found among you who makes his son or his daughter pass through fire, or who uses divination, or who engages in fortune telling, or who observes omens, or who practices witchcraft, 11 or who casts a magic spell, or who consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or who inquires of the dead.[b]
12 Anyone doing these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these abominations, the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
13 You are to be blameless with the Lord your God.
14 It is true that those nations whose land you are taking listen to fortune tellers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not permitted you to do things like that.
The Prophet
15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brother Israelites. Listen to him.
16 That is exactly what you asked from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly. You said, “Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God anymore, and do not let me see this great fire again, or I will die.”
17 Then the Lord said to me, “They have done well by saying what they said. 18 I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them everything that I command him. 19 Anyone who will not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20 Any prophet who presumes to speak something in my name that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks something in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.”
21 What if you ask yourselves, “How can we know that the Lord has not spoken that word?” 22 If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not come about and does not come true, the Lord has not spoken that word. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.[c]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 18:1 Or from the food offerings
- Deuteronomy 18:11 The distinctions between all these classes of occult practitioners are uncertain.
- Deuteronomy 18:22 Or it
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.