Deuteronomy 18

1 “The priests and the Levites, and all who are from the same tribe, shall have no portion or inheritance with the rest of Israel. For they shall eat the sacrifices of the Lord and his oblations.

The Levitical priests, in fact the whole tribe of Levi, will not have a share in the land allotment with the other Israelites. They are to eat from the food offerings presented to the Lord—that is what they are entitled to receive.

2 And they shall receive nothing else from the possession of their brothers. For the Lord himself is their inheritance, just as he said to them.

While they don't own land among the other tribes, the Lord takes care of them, as he promised.

3 This shall be the recompense for the priests from the people, and from those who offer victims, whether they will immolate an ox or a sheep. They shall give to the priest the shoulder and the breast,

The priests' share of a sacrifice of a bull or a sheep that is brought by the people is as follows. The priests are to be given the shoulder, the jaw, and the insides.

4 the first-fruits of grain, wine, and oil, and a portion of the wool from the shearing of the sheep.

You are to provide them with the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the first wool sheared from your flock.

5 For the Lord your God himself has chosen him out of all your tribes, so that he may stand and minister to the name of the Lord, him and his sons, forever.

For the Lord your God has chosen Levi and his descendants from all your tribes to stand before him and serve in his name forever.

6 If a Levite departs from one of the cities, throughout all of Israel, in which he lives, and if he wills and desires to go to the place which the Lord will choose,

If a Levite is convinced he should move from any Israelite town and goes to the place the Lord will choose,

7 he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, as do all his brothers, the Levites, who will be standing at that time in the sight of the Lord.

then he shall be allowed to serve in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there in service before the Lord.

8 He shall receive the same portion of food as the rest also receive, besides that which is due to him in his own city, by succession from his fathers.

They will all receive the same food allowances, despite him having received money from the sale of his father's property.

9 When you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you, be careful that you are not willing to imitate the abominations of those nations.

Once you enter the country the Lord your God is giving you, don't copy the offensive ways of the nations there.

10 Do not let there be found among you one who would purify his son or daughter by leading them through fire, nor one who consults seers, nor one who observes dreams or omens. Do not let there be found among you one who practices the occult,

There should be no one who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or fortune-telling, uses magic or sorcery,

11 nor one who uses spells, nor one who consults demonic spirits, nor a diviner, nor one who seeks the truth from the dead.

practices witchcraft, visits a medium or spiritist, or communicates with the dead. Anyone does such things offends the Lord.

12 For the Lord abominates all these things. And, because of these wicked ways, he will destroy them at your arrival.

It's because of these offensive things that the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you.

13 You shall be perfect and without blemish with the Lord your God.

You are to be innocent of such things in the presence of the Lord your God.

14 These nations, whose land you shall possess, they listen to soothsayers and diviners. But you have been otherwise instructed by the Lord your God.

Even though these nations, whose land you will occupy, listen to magicians and fortune-tellers, the Lord your God forbids you to do so.

15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a PROPHET from your nation and from your brothers, similar to me. You shall listen to him,

The Lord your God will send you a prophet like me from your people. You must listen to him.

16 just as you petitioned of the Lord your God at Horeb, when the assembly was gathered together, and you said: ‘Let me no longer hear the voice of the Lord my God, and let me no longer see this very great fire, lest I die.’

Remember what you told the Lord your God at Horeb when you were all assembled there. You said, “Please don't let us go on hearing the Lord our God speak to us, or see this terrifying fire anymore! Otherwise we're going to die!”

17 And the Lord said to me: ‘They have spoken all these things well.

Then the Lord told me, “They are right in what they're saying.

18 I will raise up a prophet for them, from the midst of their brothers, similar to you. And I will place my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all the things that I will instruct him.

I'm going to send them a prophet like you from their people. I will give him my messages, and he will tell them everything I order him to say.

19 But against anyone who is not willing to listen to his words, which he will speak in my name, I will stand forth as the avenger.

I will deal with anyone who does not listen to my message that the prophet speaks in my name.

20 But if a prophet, having been corrupted by arrogance, chooses to speak, in my name, things which I did not instruct him to say, or to speak in the name of foreign gods, he shall be put to death.

However, if any prophet claims to be delivering a message in my name that I have not ordered him to give, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must be executed.”

21 But if, in silent thought, you respond: “How will I be able to recognize a word which the Lord has not spoken?”

You may be wondering, “How can we be sure that a message hasn't come from the Lord?”

22 you shall have this sign. If whatever that prophet predicts in the name of the Lord does not happen, then the Lord has not spoken it. Instead, the prophet has formed it through the swelling of his own mind. And for this reason, you shall not fear him.’”

When a prophet speaks in the Lord's name and what he says doesn't happen or come true, then that is a not a message from the Lord. The prophet has spoken with contempt for the Lord. Don't be intimidated by him.