Deuteronomy 18:8-18

8 He shall eat an allotted portion, besides the sale of his hereditary property.

9 And when thou shalt have entered into the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations.

10 There shall not be found in thee one who purges his son or his daughter with fire, one who uses divination, who deals with omens, and augury,

11 a sorcerer employing incantation, one who has in him a divining spirit, and observer of signs, questioning the dead.

12 For every one that does these things is an abomination to the Lord thy God; for because of these abominations the Lord will destroy them from before thy face.

13 Thou shalt be perfect before the Lord thy God.

14 For all these nations whose thou shalt inherit, they will listen to omens and divinations; but the Lord thy God has not permitted thee so .

15 The Lord thy God shall raise up to thee a prophet of thy brethren, like me; him shall ye hear:

16 according to all things which thou didst desire of the Lord thy God in Choreb in the day of the assembly, saying, We will not again hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and we will not any more see this great fire, and we shall not die.

17 And the Lord said to me, They have spoken rightly all that they have said to thee.

18 I will raise up to them a prophet of their brethren, like thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them as I shall command him.

Deuteronomy 18:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 18

This chapter gives an account of the provision made for the priests and Levites, with the reason of it, De 18:1-5, of allowance of a country Levite to minister at Jerusalem, and take his portion with the rest, De 18:6-8, and of several persons of bad practices not to be suffered among the people of Israel, De 18:9-14, and of an extraordinary prophet that should be raised up among them, to whom they should hearken, or it would be the worse for them, De 18:15-19, but a false prophet was to be put to death, of whom a sign is given by which he might be known, De 18:20-22.

Footnotes

• [a]. divines.