Deuteronomy 13

1If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder,

1If a prophet or someone who says they have dreams appears among you and promises you a sign or a miracle,

2and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

2and the sign or miracle they told you about actually happens, and then they say, 'Let us go follow other gods' gods you haven't known—'and let us worship them,'

3thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

4You must follow the LORD your God, fear him, keep his commands, obey him, serve him, and hold tight to him.

5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because they preached rebellion against the LORD your God—who brought you out of Egypt and rescued you from the land of slavery—to turn you away from the path the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must remove this evil from among you.

6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

6If your own brother, your son or daughter, the wife you love, or your closest friend tries to secretly persuade you, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods' (gods that neither you nor your ancestors knew,

7of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

7gods of the people living around you, whether nearby or far away, from one end of the earth to the other),

8thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

8do not give in to them or listen to them. Do not show them any pity. Do not spare them or protect them.

9but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

9You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first to strike them, and then the hands of all the people.

10And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

10Stone them to death because they tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.

11Then all Israel will hear about it and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.

12If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying,

12If you hear a report about one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to live in, stating:

13Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

13'Some wicked men have gone out from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known),'

14then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee,

14then you must investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true and it is proven that this detestable thing has happened among you,

15thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

15you must kill the people of that city with the sword. Completely destroy the city and everything in it, including the livestock.

16And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

16Gather all the goods from the city into the middle of the public square and burn the city and all its goods completely as a burnt offering to the LORD your God. It must remain a ruin forever and never be rebuilt.

17And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

17Keep none of those things set aside for destruction, so that the LORD will turn from his fierce anger. Then he will show you mercy, have compassion on you, and make your population grow, just as he promised your ancestors,

18when thou shalt hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

18provided that you obey the LORD your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and by doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.