18 “Remember that the priests and all the other members of the Levite tribe will not be given property like the other tribes. So the priests and Levites are to be supported by the sacrifices brought to the altar of the Lord and by the other offerings the people bring to him. 2 They don’t need to own property, for the Lord is their property! That is what he promised them! 3 The shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach of every ox or sheep brought for sacrifice must be given to the priests. 4 In addition, the priests shall receive the harvest samples brought in thanksgiving to the Lord—the first of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and of the fleece at shearing time. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen the tribe of Levi, of all the tribes, to minister to the Lord from generation to generation.
6-7 “Any Levite, no matter where he lives in the land of Israel, has the right to come to the sanctuary at any time and minister in the name of the Lord, just like his brother Levites who work there regularly. 8 He shall be given his share of the sacrifices and offerings as his right, not just if he is in need.
9 “When you arrive in the Promised Land you must be very careful lest you be corrupted by the horrible customs of the nations now living there. 10 For example, any Israeli who presents his child to be burned to death as a sacrifice to heathen gods must be killed.[a] No Israeli may practice black magic, or call on the evil spirits for aid, or be a fortune-teller, 11 or be a serpent charmer, medium, or wizard, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone doing these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord, and it is because the nations do these things that the Lord your God will displace them. 13 You must walk blamelessly before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you replace all do these evil things, but the Lord your God will not permit you to do such things.
15 “Instead, he will raise up for you a prophet like me, an Israeli, a man to whom you must listen and whom you must obey. 16 For this is what you yourselves begged of God at Mount Horeb. There at the foot of the mountain you begged that you might not have to listen to the terrifying voice of God again, or see the awesome fire on the mountain, lest you die.
17 “‘All right,’ the Lord said to me, ‘I will do as they have requested. 18 I will raise up from among them a prophet, an Israeli like you. I will tell him what to say, and he shall be my spokesman to the people. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to him and heed his messages from me. 20 But any prophet who falsely claims that his message is from me shall die. And any prophet who claims to give a message from other gods must die.’ 21 If you wonder, ‘How shall we know whether the prophecy is from the Lord or not?’ 22 this is the way to know: If the thing he prophesies doesn’t happen, it is not the Lord who has given him the message; he has made it up himself. You have nothing to fear from him.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 18:10 must be killed, implied.