Deuteronomy 13

1 “When a prophet or a dreamer of a dream arises in your middle, and has given a sign or wonder to you, 2 and the sign and the wonder has come to pass, which he has spoken of to you, saying, Let us go after other gods (which you do not know) and serve them, 3 you will not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of the dream, for your God YHWH is trying you to know whether you are loving your God YHWH with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You will walk after your God YHWH, and you will fear Him, and keep His commands, and listen to His voice, and serve Him, and cleave to Him. 5 And that prophet or that dreamer of the dream will be put to death, for he has spoken apostasy against your God YHWH (who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, and ransomed you out of a house of servants), to drive you out of the way in which your God YHWH has commanded you to walk, and you will have put away evil from your middle. 6 When your brother, son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, moves you in secret, saying, Let us go and serve other gods (which you do not know, you and your fathers, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, who are near to you, or who are far off from you, from the end of the earth even to the other end of the earth), 8 you will not consent to him, nor listen to him, nor will your eye have pity on him, nor will you spare, nor will you cover him over. 9 But you will surely kill him. Your hand will be on him in the first place to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last. 10 And you will stone him with stones and he will die, for he has sought to drive you away from your God YHWH, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants. 11 And all Israel will hear and fear, and will not continue to do like this evil thing in your middle. 12 When you hear someone in one of your cities, which your God YHWH has given to you to stay there, saying, 13 Men, sons of worthlessness, have gone out of your middle, and they force away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods (which you do not know), 14 then you will inquire, and search, and ask diligently, and look, if truth, the thing is established. This abomination was done in your middle— 15 you will surely strike the inhabitants of that city by the mouth of the sword, devoting it and all that is in it, even its livestock, by the mouth of the sword. 16 And you will gather all its spoil into the middle of its broad place, and completely burn the city and all its spoil with fire for your God YHWH, and it will be a continuous heap, it will not be built anymore. 17 And nothing from any of that which is devoted will cling to your hand, so that YHWH turns back from the fierceness of His anger, and gives mercies to you, and loves you, and multiplies you, as He had sworn to your fathers, 18 because you listened to the voice of your God YHWH, to keep all his commands which I am commanding you today, to do that which is right in the eyes of your God YHWH.”


Next: Chapter 14

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