| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, | 1Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, |
| 2and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,” | 2and 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." |
| 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. | 3You 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. |
| 4You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him. | 4You 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. |
| 5Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you. | 5As 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 out evil from within. |
| 6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known, | 6Suppose 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, |
| 7the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), | 7the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other). |
| 8you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him. | 8You 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. |
| 9Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people. | 9Instead, you must kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community. |
| 10Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. | 10You 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. |
| 11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you. | 11Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you. |
| 12If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said | 12Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you as a place to live, that |
| 13that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known), | 13some 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). |
| 14then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you, | 14You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, |
| 15you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock. | 15you 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. |
| 16And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. | 16You 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. |
| 17Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers, | 17You 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. |
| 18because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God. | 18Thus you must obey the LORD your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you today and doing what is right before him. |
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