"Remember that the Levitical priests and the rest of the tribe of Levi will not be given an inheritance of land like the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the offerings given to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance.
They will have no inheritance of their own among the Israelites. The LORD himself is their inheritance, just as he promised them.
"These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the oxen and sheep that the people bring as offerings: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.
You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.
For the LORD your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the LORD's name forever.
"Any Levite who so desires may come from any town in Israel, from wherever he is living, to the place the LORD chooses.
He may minister there in the name of the LORD his God, just like his fellow Levites who are serving the LORD there.
He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he has a private source of income.
"When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.
For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft,
or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.
Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.
You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
The people you are about to displace consult with sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things.
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites, and you must listen to that prophet.
For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You begged that you might never again have to listen to the voice of the LORD your God or see this blazing fire for fear you would die.
"Then the LORD said to me, `Fine, I will do as they have requested.
I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will tell that prophet what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command him.
I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.
But any prophet who claims to give a message from another god or who falsely claims to speak for me must die.'
You may wonder, `How will we know whether the prophecy is from the LORD or not?'
If the prophet predicts something in the LORD's name and it does not happen, the LORD did not give the message. That prophet has spoken on his own and need not be feared.