Deuteronomy 18:1-8

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.”