| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, | 1Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, |
| 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 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 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 will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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, | 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, |
| 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 surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to 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 give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for 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 kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 11So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. | 11Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you. |
| 12“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, | 12Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you as a place to live, that |
| 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— | 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 shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was 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 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 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 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. | 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. |
| 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, | 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 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. | 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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