Deuteronomy 18

1 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.

The priests, who are Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, will have no portion nor inheritance with Israel; they must eat the offerings of Yahweh made by fire as their inheritance.

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

They must have no inheritance among their brothers; Yahweh is their inheritance, as he said to them.

3 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.

This is the share given to the priests, given to them from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it be an oxen or a sheep: the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the inner parts.

4 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.

The firstfruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you must give him.

5 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.

For Yahweh your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to serve in the name of Yahweh, him and his sons forever.

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

If a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel from where he is living, and desires with all his soul to come to the place Yahweh will choose,

7 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.

then he must serve in the name of Yahweh his God as all his brothers the Levites do, who stand there before Yahweh.

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

They must have similar portions to eat, besides of what comes of the sale of his family's inheritance.

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

When you have come into the land that Yahweh your God is giving you, you must not learn to observe the abominations of those nations.

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

There must not be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or his daughter in the fire, anyone who uses divination or tells fortunes, or reads signs found in a cup, or engages in witchcraft,

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

any charmer, anyone who conjurs up spirits, or one who casts spells, or who talks with spirits of the dead.

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

For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh; it is because of these abominations that Yahweh your God is driving them out from before you.

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

You must be blameless before Yahweh your God.

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

For these nations that you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and divination; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do so.

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

Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet from among you, one of your brothers, like me. You must listen to him.

16 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!”

This is what you asked from Yahweh your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let us not hear again the voice of Yahweh our God, nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.'

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

Yahweh said to me, 'What they have said is good.

18 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.

I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, just like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him.

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

It will happen that if anyone does not listen to the words of mine that he speaks in my name, I will require it of him.

20 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.”

But the prophet who speaks a word arrogantly in my name, a word that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that very prophet must die.'

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

This is what you must say in your heart: 'How will we recognize a message that Yahweh has not spoken?'

22 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.

You will recognize a message that Yahweh has spoken when a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh. If that thing does not occur nor happen, then that is something that Yahweh has not spoken and the prophet has spoken it arrogantly, and you must not be afraid of him.