Provision for Priests and Levites

18 “The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, (A)shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They (B)shall eat the Lord's food offerings[a] as their[b] inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: (C)they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. (D)The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes (E)to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.

“And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, (F)where he lives—and he may come when he desires[c](G)to the place that the Lord will choose, and ministers in the name of the Lord his God, (H)like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the Lord, then he may have equal (I)portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 18:1 Or the offerings by fire to the Lord
  2. Deuteronomy 18:1 Hebrew his
  3. Deuteronomy 18:6 Or lives—if he comes enthusiastically
  4. Deuteronomy 18:8 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical(A) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings(B) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.(C) They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(D) as he promised them.(E)

This is the share due the priests(F) from the people who sacrifice a bull(G) or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.(H) You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,(I) for the Lord your God has chosen them(J) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister(K) in the Lord’s name always.(L)

If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,(M) he may minister in the name(N) of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.(O)

Read full chapter