Deuteronomy 18
18
The Portion of the Priests and Levites
1“The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part nor #Deut. 10:9; 1 Cor. 9:13inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His portion. 2Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord is their inheritance, as He said to them.
3“And this shall be the priest’s #Lev. 7:32–34; Num. 18:11, 12; 1 Sam. 2:13–16, 29due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4#Ex. 22:29The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5For #Ex. 28:1the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes #Deut. 10:8to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.
6“So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he #Num. 35:2dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind #Deut. 12:5; 14:23to the place which the Lord chooses, 7then he may serve in the name of the Lord his God #Num. 1:50; 2 Chr. 31:2as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the Lord. 8They shall have equal #Lev. 27:30–33; Num. 18:21–24; 2 Chr. 31:4; Neh. 12:44portions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.
Avoid Wicked Customs
9“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, #Lev. 18:26, 27, 30; Deut. 12:29, 30; 20:16–18you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter #Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31pass through the fire, #Ex. 22:18; Lev. 19:26, 31; 20:6, 27; Is. 8:19or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11#Lev. 20:27or #1 Sam. 28:7one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and #Lev. 18:24; Deut. 9:4because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. 13You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. 14For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.
A New Prophet Like Moses
15#Matt. 21:11; Luke 1:76; 2:25–34; 7:16; 24:19; Acts 3:22“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb #Deut. 5:23–27in the day of the assembly, saying, #Ex. 20:18, 19; Heb. 12:19‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
17“And the Lord said to me: #Deut. 5:28‘What they have spoken is good. 18#Deut. 34:10; John 1:45; Acts 3:22I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and #Num. 23:5; Is. 49:2; 51:16; John 17:8will put My words in His mouth, #(John 4:25; 8:28)and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19#Acts 3:23; (Heb. 12:25)And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20But #Deut. 13:5; Jer. 14:14, 15; Zech. 13:2–5the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or #Deut. 13:1–3; Jer. 2:8who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 22#Jer. 28:9when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, #Deut. 13:2if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it #Deut. 18:20presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
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Deuteronomy 18: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 18
18
Gifts for the Priests and Levites
1“Remember that the Levitical priests—that is, the whole of the tribe of Levi—will receive no allotment of land among the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the special gifts given to the Lord, for that is their share. 2They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The Lord himself is their special possession, just as he promised them.
3“These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the cattle, sheep, and goats that the people bring as offerings: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time. 5For the Lord your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the Lord’s name forever.
6“Suppose a Levite chooses to move from his town in Israel, wherever he is living, to the place the Lord chooses for worship. 7He may minister there in the name of the Lord his God, just like all his fellow Levites who are serving the Lord there. 8He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he also receives support from his family.
A Call to Holy Living
9“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.#18:10 Or never make your son or daughter pass through the fire. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
True and False Prophets
15Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai.#18:16 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
17“Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 20But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’
21“But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
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