The Portion of the Priests and Levites
1 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part norinheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of theLordmade by fire, and His portion.
2 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; theLordis their inheritance, as He said to them.
3 “And this shall be the priest’sdue from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whetheritisbull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.
4 The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
5 FortheLordyour God has chosen him out of all your tribesto stand to minister in the name of theLord, him and his sons forever.
6 “So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where hedwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mindto the place which theLordchooses,
7 then he may serve in the name of theLordhis Godas all his brethren the Levitesdo,who stand there before theLord.
8 They shall have equalportions to eat, besides what comes from the sale of his inheritance.
Avoid Wicked Customs
9 “When you come into the land which theLordyour God is giving you,you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among youanyonewho makes his son or his daughterpass through the fire,oronewho practices witchcraft,ora soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11 orone who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12 For all who do these thingsarean abomination to theLord, andbecause of these abominations theLordyour God drives them out from before you.
13 You shall be blameless before theLordyour God.
14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, theLordyour God has not appointed such for you.
A New Prophet Like Moses
15 “TheLordyour God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,
16 according to all you desired of theLordyour God in Horebin the day of the assembly, saying,‘Let me not hear again the voice of theLordmy God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
17 “And theLordsaid to me:‘What they have spoken is good.
18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, andwill put My words in His mouth,and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
19 And it shall bethatwhoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will requireitof him.
20 Butthe prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, orwho speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’
21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which theLordhas not spoken?’—
22 when a prophet speaks in the name of theLord,if the thing does not happen or come to pass, thatisthe thing which theLordhas not spoken; the prophet has spoken itpresumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.