1“If a prophet, or one who foretells dreams, arises among you and promises you a sign or a wonder, 2And the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, and says ‘Let us seek other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them’, 3You must not listen to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams. The LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4You must follow the LORD your God, fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice: you must serve Him, and cling to Him. 5And that prophet, or dreamer of dreams, must be put to death; because he has tried to lead 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 drive you off the path which the LORD your God commands you to walk. You must purge such evil from your midst. 6“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son, your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend, who is as your own soul, tries to secretly entice you, by saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’, which neither you, nor your fathers; have known - 7The gods of the people who are around you, whether near to you, or far, from one end of the earth to the other - 8You must not consent to him, nor listen to him; nor shall you pity, nor shall you spare, nor conceal him. 9But you must surely kill him; your hand should be the first upon him to put him to death, followed by the hands of all the people. 10And you shall stone him with stones, so that he dies; because he has sought to lead you away from the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11And all Israel shall hear of it, and fear, and shall never do any such wickedness as this among you. 12“If you hear a report in one of the cities, which the LORD your God has given you to dwell in, that says, 13‘Troublemakers have arisen among you, and led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods”, which you have not known,’ 14Then you shall inquire, and diligently investigate; and if it is true, and it is proven that such abomination is done among you; 15You must surely destroy the inhabitants of that city with the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is in it, even its cattle, with the sword. 16And you shall gather all the plunder of it into the middle of its street, and burn it with the city - and all its plunder, every whit, as a burnt offering for the LORD your God, and it shall remain a heap forever; it shall not be rebuilt. 17And nothing of the condemned things must remain in your possession, so that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His anger, and show you mercy and compassion, and prosper you, as He has sworn to your fathers, 18Because you listen to and obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you this day, and do what is right in His eyes. Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |