The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 The priests, the Levites, that is, all the tribe of Levi, will have no part or heritage with Israel: their food and their heritage will be the offerings of the Lord made by fire.
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"The priestly tribe of Levi is not to receive any share of land in Israel; instead, they are to live on the offerings and other sacrifices given to the Lord.
2 And they will have no heritage among their countrymen: the Lord is their heritage, as he has said to them.
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They are to own no land, as the other tribes do; their share is the privilege of being the Lord's priests, as the Lord has promised.
3 And this is to be the priests' right: those who make an offering of a sheep or an ox are to give to the priest the top part of the leg and the two sides of the head and the stomach.
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"Whenever cattle or sheep are sacrificed, the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jaw, and the stomach.
4 And in addition you are to give him the first of your grain and wine and oil, and the first wool cut from your sheep.
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They are to receive the first share of the grain, wine, olive oil, and wool.
5 For he, and his sons after him for ever, have been marked out by the Lord your God from all your tribes, to do the work of priests in the name of the Lord.
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The Lord chose from all your tribes the tribe of Levi to serve him as priests forever.
6 And if a Levite, moved by a strong desire, comes from any town in all Israel where he is living to the place marked out by the Lord;
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"Any Levite who wants to may come from any town in Israel to the one place of worship
7 Then he will do the work of a priest in the name of the Lord his God, with all his brothers the Levites who are there before the Lord.
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and may serve there as a priest of the Lord his God, like the other Levites who are serving there.
8 His food will be the same as theirs, in addition to what has come to him as the price of his property.
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He is to receive the same amount of food as the other priests, and he may keep whatever his family sends him.
9 When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, do not take as your example the disgusting ways of those nations.
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"When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don't follow the disgusting practices of the nations that are there.
10 Let there not be seen among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or anyone using secret arts, or a maker of strange sounds, or a reader of signs, or any wonder-worker,
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Don't sacrifice your children in the fires on your altars; and don't let your people practice divination or look for omens or use spells
11 Or anyone using secret force on people, or putting questions to a spirit, or having secret knowledge, or going to the dead for directions.
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or charms, and don't let them consult the spirits of the dead.
12 For all who do such things are disgusting to the Lord; and because of these disgusting things the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
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The Lord your God hates people who do these disgusting things, and that is why he is driving those nations out of the land as you advance.
13 You are to be upright in heart before the Lord your God.
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Be completely faithful to the Lord."
14 For these nations, whose land you are taking, give attention to readers of signs and to those using secret arts: but the Lord your God will not let you do so.
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Then Moses said, "In the land you are about to occupy, people follow the advice of those who practice divination and look for omens, but the Lord your God does not allow you to do this.
15 The Lord your God will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to him;
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Instead, he will send you a prophet like me from among your own people, and you are to obey him.
16 In answer to the request you made to the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the great meeting, when you said, Let not the voice of the Lord my God come to my ears again, and let me not see this great fire any more, or death will overtake me.
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"On the day that you were gathered at Mount Sinai, you begged not to hear the Lord speak again or to see his fiery presence any more, because you were afraid you would die.
17 Then the Lord said to me, What they have said is well said.
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So the Lord said to me, "They have made a wise request.
18 I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say.
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I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command.
19 And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me.
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He will speak in my name, and I will punish anyone who refuses to obey him.
20 But the prophet who takes it on himself to say words in my name which I have not given him orders to say, or who says anything in the name of other gods, will come to his death.
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But if any prophet dares to speak a message in my name when I did not command him to do so, he must die for it, and so must any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods.'
21 And if you say in your hearts, How are we to be certain that the word does not come from the Lord?
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"You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet's message does not come from the Lord.
22 When a prophet makes a statement in the name of the Lord, if what he says does not take place and his words do not come true, then his word is not the word of the Lord: the words of the prophet were said in the pride of his heart, and you are to have no fear of him.
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If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says does not come true, then it is not the Lord's message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority, and you are not to fear him.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.