Deuteronomy 13

Modern

Literal

Idolaters to Be Put to Death

¹If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

¹If there arises from among you a prophet or a dreamer of a dream, and he gives to you a sign or a 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 the wonder comes to pass of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods (that you have not 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 shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of the dream. For YHWH your God is testing you, to know whether you love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

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.

⁴After YHWH your God you shall walk, and Him you shall fear, and His commandments you shall keep, and His voice you shall obey, and Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall hold fast.

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.^a

⁵And that prophet or that dreamer of the dream, he shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from YHWH your God—who brought you out from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery—to drive you out of the way that YHWH your God commanded you to walk in it. And you shall put away the evil from among you.

⁶If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace,^a or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,

⁶If your brother, the 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, entices you secretly, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known—you and your fathers—

⁷the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other),

⁷of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from the end of the earth and to the end of the earth),

⁸you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.

⁸you shall not consent to him nor listen to him. Nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor conceal 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.

⁹but you must surely kill him. Your hand shall be the first against him to put him to death, and the hand of all the people afterward.

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.

¹⁰And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from YHWH your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹¹Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

¹¹And all Israel shall hear and fear, and not add to do such as this wickedness among you.

Idolatrous Cities to Be Destroyed

¹²If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said

¹²If you hear someone in one of your cities that YHWH your God gives you to dwell there, one saying,

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),

¹³men, the sons of worthlessness, have gone out from among you and enticed those dwelling in their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (that you have not known),

¹⁴then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you,

¹⁴then you shall inquire, and search out, and ask diligently, and behold, it is true, the thing is established—this abomination that has been done among you—

¹⁵you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction^a all its people and livestock.

¹⁵you must surely strike those dwelling in that city with the mouth of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it, and its livestock, with the mouth of the sword.

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.

¹⁶And all its plunder you shall gather into the middle of the street, and burn with the fire the city and all its plunder completely before YHWH your God. And it shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built 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,

¹⁷And in your hand you shall not cling to any of the accursed things, so that YHWH will turn from the burning of His anger, and show you mercy, and have compassion on you, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

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.

¹⁸because you have listened to the voice of YHWH your God, to keep all His commandments that I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of YHWH your God.