²⁹ “When the Lord your God annihilates the nations before you,^(A) which you are entering to take possession of,^(B) and you drive them out and live in their land, ³⁰ be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’ ³¹ You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practice every detestable thing, which the Lord hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

Israel’s Intermarriage with Pagans

9 After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves^(A) from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices^(B) are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.^(C)