Deuteronomy 18

¹ ‘The levitical priests, that is to say the whole of the tribe of Levi, shall have no share or inheritance with Israel; they shall live on the foods offered to Yahweh and on his dues.

² This tribe is to have no inheritance among their brothers; Yahweh will be their inheritance as he promised them.

³ ‘These are the priests’ dues from the people, from those who offer an ox or a sheep in sacrifice: the priest is to be given the shoulder, the cheeks and the stomach.

⁴ You must give him the first-fruits of your corn, your wine, your oil, as well as the first of your sheep’s shearing.

⁵ For Yahweh your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand before Yahweh your God, to do the duties of the sacred ministry, and to bless in Yahweh’s name, him and his sons for all time.

⁶ ‘If the Levite living in one of your towns anywhere in Israel decides to come to the place Yahweh chooses,

⁷ he shall minister there in the name of Yahweh his God like all his fellow Levites who stand ministering there in the presence of Yahweh,

⁸ and shall eat equal shares with them, no count being taken of the claims he has on the levitical families for the goods he has sold.

⁹ ‘When you come into the land Yahweh your God gives you, you must not fall into the habit of imitating the detestable practices of the natives.

¹⁰ There must never be anyone among you who makes his son or daughter pass through fire, who practises divination, who is soothsayer, augur or sorcerer,

¹¹ who uses charms, consults ghosts or spirits, or calls up the dead.

¹² For the man who does these things is detestable to Yahweh your God; it is because of these detestable practices that Yahweh your God is driving these nations before you.

¹³ ‘You must be entirely faithful to Yahweh your God.

¹⁴ For these nations whom you are dispossessing may listen to soothsayers and diviners, but this is not the gift that Yahweh your God gives to you:

¹⁵ Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like myself, from among yourselves, from your own brothers; to him you must listen.

¹⁶ This is what you yourselves asked of Yahweh your God at Horeb on the day of the Assembly. “Do not let me hear again” you said “the voice of Yahweh my God, nor look any longer on this great fire, or I shall die”;

¹⁷ and Yahweh said to me, “All they have spoken is well said.

¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet like yourself for them from their own brothers; I will put my words into his mouth and he shall tell them all I command him.

¹⁹ The man who does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name, shall be held answerable to me for it.

²⁰ But the prophet who presumes to say in my name a thing I have not commanded him to say, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.”

²¹ ‘You may say in your heart, “How are we to know what word was not spoken by Yahweh?”

²² When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh and the thing does not happen and the word is not fulfilled, then it has not been spoken by Yahweh. The prophet has spoken with presumption. You have nothing to fear from him.