2 ARST They will say those things to convince you to worship gods that you have never known about before. But even if what they predict happens, BSB BSB: and 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,”
3 ARST do not pay attention to what they say. This is because Yahweh our God will observe how you behave to find out if you love him with all your inner being. BSB BSB: you 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.
4 ARST You must conduct your lives as Yahweh our God wants you to. You must honor him, do what he tells you to do, and be faithful to him. BSB BSB: You 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.
5 ARST But you must execute anyone who tells you to disobey Yahweh our God. This includes anyone who says he is a prophet, or anyone who says that he can interpret dreams. This is because Yahweh himself rescued your families from being slaves in Egypt. Those people want to convince you to disobey what Yahweh has told you to do. Execute them to get rid of those kinds of evil acts in your community. BSB BSB: Such 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 ARST Your brother, son, daughter, wife, or some close friend might privately urge you to disobey. They might urge you to worship other gods that you and your ancestors never knew about before. BSB BSB: If 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,
7 ARST They might urge you to worship gods that nearby or faraway people groups worship. BSB BSB: the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other),
8 ARST Do not do what they suggest. Do not even listen to them. Do not act mercifully toward them, and do not keep secret what they have done. BSB BSB: you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
9 ARST Execute them! Be the first one to{ throw stones} at them to kill them. Then, everyone else must{ throw stones at them}, too. BSB BSB: Instead, 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.
10 ARST Kill such people by throwing stones at them. This is because they tell you to disobey Yahweh our God, who rescued your ancestors from being slaves in Egypt. BSB BSB: Stone 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.
11 ARST When they are executed, all the Israelite people will hear what happened. They will become afraid, and none of them will do such an evil thing again. BSB BSB: Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.
12 ARST When you are living in one of the towns in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, you may hear BSB BSB: If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said
13 ARST that some worthless people among you are deceiving the people of their town. They might urge you to worship other gods. BSB BSB: that 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),
14 ARST Examine the facts about it thoroughly. Suppose you find out that it is true that such a disgraceful thing has happened. BSB BSB: then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you,
15 ARST Then kill all the people in that town. And kill all their livestock, too. Destroy the town completely. BSB BSB: you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.
16 ARST Gather all the possessions that belonged to the people who lived there and pile them up in the city plaza. Then burn the town and everything in it. It will be like an offering to Yahweh that was completely burned on the altar. The ruins must stay there forever. The town must never be rebuilt. BSB BSB: And 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.
17 ARST You must not take for yourselves anything that Yahweh has said must be destroyed. If you do what I say, Yahweh will stop being angry with you, and he will act mercifully toward you. And he will cause you to have many children, which is what he promised our ancestors that he would do. BSB BSB: Nothing 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,
18 ARST Yahweh our God will do all those things if you do what he is telling you to do, obey all the commandments that I am giving to you today, and do what Yahweh says is right for you to do. BSB BSB: because 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.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.