Deuteronomy 18

Revised Geneva Translation

18 “The priests of the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His inheritance.

² “Therefore, they shall have no inheritance among their brothers. The LORD is their inheritance, as He has said to them.

³ “And this shall be the priest’s duty from the people: that those who offer sacrifice, whether bullock or sheep, shall give to the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks and the stomach.

⁴ “The firstfruits of your corn, of your wine, of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep you shall give him.

⁵ “For the LORD your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Name of the LORD, he and his sons forever.

⁶ “Also, when a Levite shall come out of any of your cities, out of all Israel, where he remained, and comes with all the desire of his heart to the place which the LORD shall choose,

⁷ “He shall then minister in the Name of the LORD his God, as all his brothers (the Levites) who remain there before the LORD.

⁸ “They shall have similar portions to eat besides that which comes from the sale of his inheritance.

⁹ “When you shall come into the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.

¹⁰ “Let no one be found among you who makes his son or his daughter into a human sacrifice, who uses witchcraft, is a soothsayer, an interpreter of omens or a sorcerer,

¹¹ “a conjurer who counsels with spirits, a medium, or one who asks counsel from the dead.

¹² “For all who do such things are an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations, the LORD your God casts them out before you.

¹³ “Therefore, you shall be upright with the LORD your God.

¹⁴ “For these nations, which you shall possess, obey soothsayers and sorcerers. As for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so.

¹⁵ “The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. You shall listen to him,

¹⁶ “according to all that you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me hear the Voice of my LORD God no more, nor see this great fire anymore, so that I do not die.’

¹⁷ “And the LORD said to me, ‘They have well spoken.

¹⁸ ‘I will raise up a Prophet for them like you, from among their brothers. And I will put My Words in his mouth. And he shall speak to all those whom I shall Command him.

¹⁹ ‘And whoever will not listen to My Words (which he shall speak in My Name), I will require it of him.

²⁰ ‘But the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in My Name whom I have not Commanded to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’

²¹ “And if you think in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’

²² “When a prophet speaks in the Name of the LORD, if the thing does not follow or happen, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.”