13:1 Suppose a
prophet or one who
foretells by
dreams should
appear among you and
show you a
sign or wonder,
2 and the
sign or
wonder should
come to pass concerning what he
said to you,
namely, “Let us
follow other gods”—gods
whom you have
not previously
known—“and let us
serve them.”
3 You must
not listen to the
words of
that prophet or dreamer,
for the
Lord your
God will be
testing you to
see if you
love him with
all your
mind and
being.
4 You must
follow the
Lord your
God and
revere only him; and you must
observe his
commandments,
obey him,
serve him, and
remain loyal to him.
5 As for
that prophet or dreamer,
he must be
executed because he
encouraged rebellion against the
Lord your
God who
brought you from the
land of
Egypt,
redeeming you from that
place of
slavery, and because he has tried to
entice you
from the
way the
Lord your
God has
commanded you to
go. In this way you must
purge evil from
among you.
6 Suppose your own full brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have previously known, 7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other). 8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. 9 Instead, you must kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community. 10 You must stone him to death because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. 11 Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you.
12 Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you as a place to live, that 13 some evil people have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before). 14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, 15 you must by all means slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock. 16 You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin forever—it must never be rebuilt again. 17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors. 18 Thus you must obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you today and doing what is right before him.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® copyright © 1996, 2019, used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
