Deuteronomy 18:1-15

New King James Version

The Portion of the Priests and Levites

18 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have ^[a]no part nor ^(A)inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His portion. ² Therefore 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 ^(B)due^[b] 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 (C)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 For ^(D)the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes ^(E)to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.

⁶ “So if a Levite comes from any of your ^[c]gates, from where he ^(F)dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind ^(G)to the place which the Lord chooses, ⁷ then he may serve in the name of the Lord his God ^(H)as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the Lord. ⁸ They shall have equal ^(I)portions 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, ^(J)you shall not learn to follow the ^[d]abominations of those nations. ¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter ^(K)pass^[e] through the fire, ^(L)or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, ^11 (M)or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or ^(N)one who calls up the dead. ¹² For all who do these things are ^[f]an abomination to the Lord, and ^(O)because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. ¹³ You shall be ^[g]blameless before the Lord your God. ¹⁴ For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not ^[h]appointed such for you.

A New Prophet Like Moses

^15 (P)“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,