Deuteronomy 18
18
Provision for Priests and Levites
1“The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, #See Num. 18:20 shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They #Num. 18:8, 9; Josh. 13:14; 1 Sam. 2:28; [1 Cor. 9:13]shall eat the Lord’s food offerings#18:1 Or the offerings by fire to the Lord as their#18:1 Hebrew his inheritance. 2They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. 3And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: #See Lev. 7:30-34they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4#Num. 18:12; 2 Chr. 31:5The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes #ch. 17:12to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.
6“And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, #Num. 35:2, 3; Judg. 17:7; 19:1 where he lives—and he may come when he desires#18:6 Or lives—if he comes enthusiastically—#See ch. 12:5to the place that the Lord will choose, 7and ministers in the name of the Lord his God, #[1 Chr. 23:6; 2 Chr. 31:2]like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the Lord, 8then he may have equal #2 Chr. 31:4; Neh. 12:44, 47; 13:10portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.#18:8 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Abominable Practices
9“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, #ch. 12:29-31; See Lev. 18:26-30you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10There shall not be found among you anyone #See Lev. 18:21 who burns his son or his daughter as an offering,#18:10 Hebrew makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire anyone who #2 Kgs. 17:17 practices divination or #See Lev. 19:26 tells fortunes or interprets omens, or #[Ex. 22:18]a sorcerer 11or a charmer or #See Lev. 19:31 a medium or a necromancer or #[1 Sam. 28:7]one who inquires of the dead, 12#ch. 22:5; 25:16 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And #See ch. 9:4because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.
A New Prophet like Moses
15 #
John 1:21, 25, 45; Cited Acts 3:22; 7:37 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb #See ch. 9:10 on the day of the assembly, when you said, #See Ex. 20:19‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17And the Lord said to me, #ch. 5:28‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18#[See ver. 15 above] I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. #Jer. 1:9; 5:14; [John 17:8] And I will put my words in his mouth, and #[John 4:25; 8:28; 12:49, 50]he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19#[Acts 3:23] And whoever will #Jer. 29:19; 35:13not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20#See ch. 13:5But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or#18:20 Or and who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22#[ch. 13:1-3; Jer. 28:9] when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; #[See ver. 20 above]the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
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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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