| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, | 1If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, |
| 2and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ | 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,” |
| 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God 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 is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. |
| 4You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. | 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. |
| 5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. | 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. |
| 6“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, | 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, |
| 7of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, | 7the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), |
| 8you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; | 8you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him. |
| 9but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. | 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. |
| 10And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. | 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. |
| 11So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. | 11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you. |
| 12“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, | 12If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said |
| 13‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ’—which you have not known— | 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), |
| 14then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, | 14then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you, |
| 15you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. | 15you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock. |
| 16And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. | 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. |
| 17So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, | 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, |
| 18because you have listened to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God. | 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. |
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