Deuteronomy 8-13

Expanded Bible

Remember the Lord

8 Carefully obey every command I give you today. Then you will live and ·grow in number [multiply], and you will enter and ·take [possess] the land the Lord promised your ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. ² Remember ·how the Lord your God has led [all the way the Lord brought] you in the ·desert [wilderness] for these forty years, ·taking away your pride [humbling you] and testing you, because he wanted to know what was in your heart. He wanted to know if you would obey his commands. ³ He ·took away your pride [humbled you] when he let you get hungry, and then he fed you with manna [Ex. 16:31–36], which neither you nor your ·ancestors [fathers] had ever seen. This was to teach you that a person does not live on bread alone, but by everything the Lord says [Matt. 4:4]. ⁴ During these forty years, your clothes did not wear out, and your feet did not swell. ⁵ Know in your heart that the Lord your God ·corrects [instructs; disciplines] you as a parent ·corrects [instructs; disciplines] a child.

⁶ Obey the commands of the Lord your God, ·living as he has commanded you [^Lgoing in his way] and ·respecting [fearing] him. ⁷ The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with ·rivers [wadis] and pools of water, with ·springs [deeps; underground water] that flow in the valleys and hills, ⁸ a land that has wheat and barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil, and honey. ⁹ It is a land where you will have ·plenty of food [^Lno scarcity of food/bread], where you will have everything you need, where the rocks are iron, and where you can ·dig [mine] copper out of the hills.

¹⁰ When you ·have all you want to eat [^Leat and are satisfied], then ·praise [bless] the Lord your God for giving you a good land. ¹¹ Be careful not to forget the Lord your God so that you ·fail to obey [do not keep] his commands, laws, and ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] that I am giving to you today. ¹² When you eat ·all you want [^Land are satisfied] and build nice houses and live in them, ¹³ when your herds and flocks ·grow large [multiply] and your silver and gold ·increase [multiply], ·when you have more of everything [and all you have multiplies], ¹⁴ then your heart will ·become proud [^Lbe lifted up/exalted]. You will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ·where you were slaves [^Lfrom the house of bondage]. ¹⁵ He led you through the ·large [vast] and ·terrible [awesome] ·desert [wilderness] that was dry and had no water, and that had ·poisonous [^Lburning] snakes and stinging insects. He gave you water from a ·solid [or flint] rock [Ex. 17:1–7] ¹⁶ and manna to eat in the ·desert [wilderness; Ex. 16:31–36]. Manna was something your ·ancestors [fathers] had never seen. He did this to ·take away your pride [humble you] and to test you, so things would go well for you in the end. ¹⁷ You might say ·to yourself [^Lin your heart/mind], “I am rich because of ·my own power and strength [^Lthe power and strength of my hand; Ps. 30:6–7],” ¹⁸ but remember the Lord your God! It is he who gives you the power to become rich, keeping the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] he promised to your ·ancestors [fathers], as it is today.

¹⁹ If you ever forget the Lord your God and ·follow [^Lgo after] other gods and ·worship [serve] them and bow down to them, I ·warn you [testify/witness to you] today that you will be destroyed. ²⁰ Just as the Lord destroyed the other nations for you, you can be destroyed if you do not ·obey [^Llisten to the voice of] the Lord your God.

The Lord Will Be with Israel

9 Listen, Israel. You will soon cross the Jordan River to go in and ·force out [dispossess] nations that are bigger and stronger than you. They have large cities with ·walls [fortifications] up to the ·sky [heavens]. ² The people there are ·Anakites [^Lsons/descendants of the Anakim], who are strong and tall [1:28; Num. 13:28]. You know about them, and you have heard it said: “·No one can stop [^LWho can stand up to…?] the ·Anakites [^Lthe sons/descendants of Anak].” ³ But today remember that the Lord your God goes in before you to destroy them like a ·fire that burns things up [consuming fire]. He will defeat ·them [^Land subdue them] ahead of you, and you will force them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has said.

⁴ After the Lord your God has forced those nations out ahead of you, don’t say ·to yourself [^Lin your heart/mind], “The Lord brought me here to take this land because I am so ·good [righteous].” No! It is because these nations are evil that the Lord will ·force them out [dispossess them] ahead of you. ⁵ You are going in to ·take [possess] the land, not because ·you are good and honest [^Lof your righteousness or the integrity/virtue of your heart/mind], but because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord your God will ·force them out [dispossess them] ahead of you, to keep his promise to your ·ancestors [fathers], to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. ⁶ The Lord your God is giving you this good land to ·take [possess] as your own. But know this: It is not because you are ·good [righteous]; you are a ·stubborn [^Lstiff-necked] people.

Remember the Lord’s Anger

⁷ Remember this and do not forget it: You made the Lord your God angry in the ·desert [wilderness]. You ·would not obey [rebelled against] the Lord from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here. ⁸ At ·Mount Sinai [^LHoreb; 1:6] you made the Lord angry—angry enough to destroy you [Ex. 32]. ⁹ When I went up on the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets with the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] the Lord had ·made [^Lcut] with you, I stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights; I did not eat bread or drink water. ¹⁰ The Lord gave me two stone tablets, which God had written on with his own finger [^Cthe Ten Commandments; Ex. 20:2–17; 31:18]. On them were all the commands that the Lord gave to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day ·you were gathered there [of the assembly].

¹¹ When the forty days and forty nights were over, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets with the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] on them. ¹² Then the Lord told me, “Get up and go down quickly from here, because the people you brought out from Egypt are ·ruining [corrupting] themselves. They have quickly turned away from ·what [^Lthe way] I commanded and have made an idol for themselves [^Ca golden calf; Ex. 32:3–4].”

¹³ The Lord said to me, “I have watched these people, and they are very ·stubborn [^Lstiff-necked]! ¹⁴ Get away so that I may destroy them and ·make the whole world forget who they are [^Lblot off their name from under heaven]. Then I will make another nation from you that will be bigger and stronger than they are.”

¹⁵ So I turned and came down the mountain that was burning with fire, and the two stone tablets with the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] were in my hands. ¹⁶ When I looked, I saw you had sinned against the Lord your God and had made an idol in the shape of a calf. You had quickly turned away from ·what [^Lthe way] the Lord had ·told [commanded] you to do. ¹⁷ So I took the two stone tablets and threw them down, breaking them into pieces ·right in front of you [^Lbefore your eyes; Ex. 32:19].

¹⁸ Then I ·again [as before/formerly] bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I did not eat bread or drink water. You had sinned by doing what the Lord said was evil, and you made him angry. ¹⁹ I was afraid of the Lord’s anger and rage, because he was angry enough with you to destroy you, but the Lord listened to me ·again [^Lat that time]. ²⁰ And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but then I prayed for Aaron, too. ²¹ I took that sinful calf idol you had made and burned it in the fire. I crushed it into a powder like dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain [Ex. 32:20].

²² You also made the Lord angry at Taberah [Num. 11:3], Massah [Ex. 17:7], and Kibroth Hattaavah [Num. 11:34].

²³ Then the Lord sent you away from Kadesh Barnea and said, “Go up and ·take [possess] the land I have given you.” But you ·rejected [rebelled against] the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or ·obey him [^Llisten to his voice; Num. 13–14]. ²⁴ You have ·refused to obey [rebelled against] the Lord as long as I have^[a] known you.

²⁵ The Lord had said he would destroy you, so I threw myself down in front of him for those forty days and forty nights. ²⁶ I prayed to the Lord and said, “Lord God, do not destroy your people, your ·own people [^Linheritance], whom you ·freed [ransomed; redeemed] and brought out of Egypt by your great power and ·strength [^Lstrong hand]. ²⁷ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Don’t look at how ·stubborn [hard] these people are, and don’t look at their sin and evil. ²⁸ Otherwise, ·Egypt [^Lthe land from which you brought us] will say, ‘It was because the Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them, and it was because he hated them that he took them into the ·desert [wilderness] to kill them.’ ²⁹ But they are your people, Lord, your ·own people [^Linheritance], whom you brought out of Egypt with your great power and ·strength [^Loutstretched arm].”

New Stone Tablets

10 At that time the Lord said to me, “·Cut [Carve; Chisel] two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden Ark [Ex. 25:10]. ² I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke, and you will put the new tablets in the Ark [Ex. 34].”

³ So I made the Ark out of acacia wood, and I ·cut [carved; chiseled] out two stone tablets like the first ones. Then I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. ⁴ The Lord wrote the same things on these tablets he had written before—the Ten ·Commandments [^LWords; Ex. 20:2–27; 34] that he had told you on the mountain from the fire, on the day ·you were gathered [of the assembly] there. And the Lord gave them to me. ⁵ Then I turned and came down the mountain; I put the tablets in the Ark I had made, as the Lord had commanded, and they are still there.

⁶ (The ·people [^Lsons; children] of Israel went from ·the wells of the Jaakanites [or Beeroth-bene-jaakan] to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried [Num. 20:22–29]; his son Eleazar became priest in his place. ⁷ From Moserah they went to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah they went to Jotbathah [Num. 33:33], a place with ·streams [wadis] of water. ⁸ At that time the Lord ·chose [set apart] the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Treaty; Covenant; Ex. 25:10] with the Lord. They were to ·serve [minister to] the Lord and to bless the people in his name, which they still do today [Num. 6:22–27]. ⁹ That is why the Levites did not ·receive any land of their own [^Lhave an allotment and inheritance along with their brothers]; instead, they ·received the Lord himself as their gift [^Linherited the Lord himself], as the Lord your God ·told [promised] them.)

¹⁰ I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights just like the first time, and the Lord listened to me this time also. He did not want to destroy you. ¹¹ The Lord said to me, “Go and lead the people so that they will go in and ·take [possess] the land I promised their ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20].”

What the Lord Wants You to Do

¹² Now, Israel, ·this is what [^Lwhat is it that…?] the Lord your God wants you to do: ·Respect [Fear] the Lord your God, and ·do what he has told you to do [^Lwalk on all his ways/paths]. Love him. Serve the Lord your God with ·your whole being [^Lall your heart/mind and all your soul], ¹³ and obey the Lord’s commands and ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] that I am giving you today for your own good.

¹⁴ The Lord owns the ·world [earth] and everything in it—the heavens, even the ·highest heavens [^Lheaven of heavens], are his. ¹⁵ But the Lord ·cared for [stuck to] and loved your ·ancestors [fathers], and he chose you, their ·descendants [^Lseed], over all the other nations, just as it is today. ¹⁶ ·Give yourselves completely to serving him [^LCircumcise the foreskin of your heart], and do not be stubborn any longer. ¹⁷ The Lord your God is God of all gods and Lord of all lords. He is the great God, who is strong and ·wonderful [awesome]. He does not ·take sides [show favoritism/partiality], and he will not ·be talked into doing evil [take a bribe]. ¹⁸ He ·helps [grants justice to] orphans and widows, and he loves ·foreigners [resident aliens] and gives them food and clothes. ¹⁹ You also must love ·foreigners [resident aliens], because you were ·foreigners [resident aliens] in Egypt. ²⁰ ·Respect [Fear] the Lord your God and serve him. ·Be loyal [Cling] to him and ·make your promises in [swear by] his name. ²¹ He is the one you should praise; he is your God, who has done great and ·wonderful [awesome] things for you, which you have seen with your own eyes. ²² There were only seventy of your ·ancestors [fathers] when they went down to Egypt [Gen. 46:26; Ex. 1:5], and now the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky [Gen. 15:5; 22:19].

Great Things Israel Saw

11 Love the Lord your God and always obey his orders, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], laws, and commands. ² ·Remember [^LYou know] today it was not your children who saw and ·felt [experienced; knew] the ·correction [discipline] of the Lord your God. They did not see his ·majesty [greatness], his ·power [^Lstrong hand], his ·strength [^Loutstretched arm], ³ or his signs and the things he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, the king, and his whole country. ⁴ They did not see what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots, when he drowned them in the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [Ex. 10:19] as they were chasing you. The Lord ·ruined [destroyed] them forever. ⁵ They did not see what he did for you in the ·desert [wilderness] until you arrived here. ⁶ They did not see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the ground opened ·up [^Lits mouth] and swallowed them, their ·families [^Lhouses], their tents, and everyone who stood ·with them in Israel [^Lon their feet in all Israel; Num. 16]. ⁷ It was ·you who [^Lyour eyes that] saw all these great things the Lord has done.

⁸ So ·obey [keep] all the commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today so that you will be strong and can go in and ·take [possess] the land you are ·going to take as your own [^Lcrossing over to possess]. ⁹ Then you will live a long time in the land that the Lord ·promised [swore] to give to your ·ancestors [fathers] and their ·descendants [^Lseed], a ·fertile land [^Lland flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8]. ¹⁰ The land you are going to take is not like Egypt, where you were. There you had to plant your seed and water it, like a vegetable garden, by using your feet. ¹¹ But the land that you will soon cross ·the Jordan River [^Lthere] to ·take [possess] is a land of hills and valleys, ·a land that drinks [watered by] rain from heaven. ¹² It is a land the Lord your God ·cares for [looks after]. His eyes are on it continually, and he watches it from the beginning of the year to the end.

¹³ If you carefully ·obey [^Llisten to] the commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with ·your whole being [^Lall your heart/mind and all your soul], ¹⁴ then he^[b] will send rain on your land at the right time, in the ·fall [^Learly rain] and ·spring [^Llate rain], and you will be able to gather your grain, new wine, and oil. ¹⁵ He^[c] will put grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will have plenty to eat.

¹⁶ Be careful, or you will be ·fooled [tricked; deceived; seduced] and will turn away to serve and worship other gods. ¹⁷ If you do, the Lord will become angry with you and will ·shut [close up] the heavens so it will not rain [1 Kin. 17:1]. Then the land will not ·grow [produce] crops, and you will soon ·die [perish] in the good land the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸ ·Remember my words with your whole being [^LPut these words of mine on your hearts/minds and on your soul]. ·Write them down and tie [^LBind] them to your hands as a sign; tie them ·on your foreheads [^Lbetween your eyes] ·to remind you [as an emblem/headband/frontlet; 6:8]. ¹⁹ Teach them well to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on ·your doors [^Lthe lintels/doorposts of your house] and gates ²¹ so that both you and your children will live a long time in the land the Lord promised your ·ancestors [fathers], as long as the ·skies [heavens] are above the earth.

²² If you are careful to obey every command I am ·giving you to follow [^Lcommanding you to do], and love the Lord your God, and ·do what he has told you to do [^Lwalk on all his ways/paths], and ·are loyal [cling] to him, ²³ then the Lord will ·force [dispossess] all those nations out of the land ahead of you, and you will ·take [possess] the land from nations that are bigger and stronger than you. ²⁴ Everywhere ·you step [^Lthe heel of your foot treads] will be yours. Your land will go from the ·desert [wilderness] to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the ·Mediterranean [^LGreat] Sea. ²⁵ No one will be able to ·stop [stand against] you. The Lord your God will ·do what he promised and will make the people afraid everywhere you go [^Lput the dread and fear of you on all the land on which you tread as he promised].

²⁶ See, today I am ·letting you choose [setting before you] a blessing or a curse. ²⁷ You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am ·giving [commanding] you today. ²⁸ But you will be cursed if you ·disobey [^Ldo not listen to] the commands of the Lord your God. So do not ·disobey the commands [^Lturn aside from the way] I am ·giving [commanding] you today, and do not ·worship [go after] other gods you do not know. ²⁹ When the Lord your God brings you into the land you will ·take as your own [possess], you are to announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim and the curses from Mount Ebal [27–28; Josh. 8:30–35]. ³⁰ (·These mountains are [^LAre they not…?] ·on the other side of [beyond] the Jordan River, to the west, toward the sunset. They are near the great trees of Moreh [Gen. 12:6] in the land of the Canaanites who live in the ·Jordan Valley [^LArabah] opposite Gilgal.) ³¹ You will soon cross the Jordan River to enter and ·take [possess] the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you ·take it over [possess it] and live there, ³² be careful to obey all the commands and ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements] I am giving you today.

The Place for Worship

12 These are the ·commands [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and laws you must carefully obey in the land the Lord, the God of your ·ancestors [fathers], is giving you to possess. Obey them as long as you live in the land. ² When you ·inherit [possess] the lands of these nations, you must completely destroy all the places where they serve their gods, on high mountains and hills and under every green tree. ³ Tear down their altars, smash their holy stone pillars, and burn their ·Asherah idols [^LAsherim; 7:5; Judg. 3:7] in the fire. Cut down their idols and destroy their names from those places.

⁴ Don’t ·worship [act for] the Lord your God that way, ⁵ but look for the place the Lord your God will choose—·a place among your tribes where he is to be worshiped [^Las his dwelling where he will place his name]. Go there, ⁶ and bring to that place your burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and sacrifices; bring ·a tenth of what you gain [^Tyour tithes] and your special gifts; bring what you have ·promised [vowed] and the special gifts you want to give the Lord, and bring the first animals born to your herds and flocks.

⁷ There you and your families will eat in the presence of the Lord, and you will enjoy all ·the good things for which you have worked [your undertakings; ^Lall that is sent out from your hand], because the Lord your God has blessed you.

⁸ Do not ·worship [act] the way we have been ·doing [acting] today, each person doing what ·he thinks is right [^Lis right/virtuous in his own eyes]. ⁹ You have not yet come to a resting place, to the ·land [^Linheritance] the Lord your God will give you as your own. ¹⁰ But soon you will cross the Jordan River to live in the land the Lord your God is ·giving you as your own [^Lcausing you to inherit], where he will give you rest from all your enemies and you will live in safety [2 Sam. 7:1; ^CDavid would achieve rest from enemies; Solomon would build the temple in an era of peace]. ¹¹ Then the Lord your God will choose a place where he ·is to be worshiped [^Lwill cause his name to dwell; ^CZion, where the Temple would be built]. To that place you must bring everything I ·tell [command] you: your burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and sacrifices, your ·offerings of a tenth of what you gain [^Ttithes], your special gifts, and all your best things you ·promised [vowed] to the Lord. ¹² There rejoice before the Lord your God. Everyone should rejoice: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites ·from your towns [^Lin your gates] who have no ·land [allotment] of their own. ¹³ Be careful that you don’t sacrifice your burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] just anywhere you ·please [^Lsee]. ¹⁴ Offer them only in the place the Lord will choose [^CZion; v. 11]. He will choose a place in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I am commanding you.

¹⁵ But you may ·kill [slaughter] your animals in any of your ·towns [^Lgates] and eat ·as much of the meat as you want [^Las much of the meat as your soul desires; or when your soul desires], as if it were a deer or a gazelle; this is the blessing the Lord your God is giving you. Anyone, clean or unclean [^Cin a ritual sense], may eat this meat, ¹⁶ but do not eat the blood [Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; Acts 15:20, 29]. Pour it out on the ground like water. ¹⁷ Do not eat in your own ·towns [^Lgates] what belongs to the Lord: ·one-tenth [^Ta tithe] of your grain, new wine, or oil; the first animals born to your herds or flocks; whatever you have ·promised to give [vowed]; the special gifts you want to give to the Lord, or any other gifts. ¹⁸ Eat these things when you are together with the Lord your God, in the place the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped. Everyone must do this: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your ·towns [^Lgates]. Rejoice in the Lord your God’s presence about ·the things you have worked for [your undertakings; ^Lall that is sent out from your hand]. ¹⁹ Be careful not to ·forget [^Labandon; forsake] the Levites as long ·as you live [^Lall your days] in the land.

²⁰ When the Lord your God enlarges your ·country [borders] as he has promised, and ·you want [^Lyour soul desires] some meat so you say, “I want some meat,” you may eat ·as much meat as you want [^Lwhat your soul desires; or when your soul desires]. ²¹ If the Lord your God chooses a place where he ·is to be worshiped [^Lputs his name] that is too far away from you, you may ·kill [slaughter] animals from your herds and flocks, which the Lord has given to you. I have commanded that you may do this. You may eat ·as much of them as you want [^Las much as your soul desires; or when your soul desires] in your own ·towns [^Lgates], ²² as you would eat gazelle or deer meat. Both clean and unclean people [^Cin a ritual sense] may eat this meat, ²³ but be sure you don’t eat the blood, because the life is in the blood [Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; Acts 15:20, 29]. Don’t eat the life with the meat. ²⁴ Don’t eat the blood, but pour it out on the ground like water. ²⁵ If you don’t eat it, things will go well for you and your children, because you will be doing what ·the Lord says is right [^Lis right/virtuous in the eyes of the Lord].

²⁶ Take your holy ·things [gifts; donations] and ·the things you have promised to give [^Lyour vows that you have lifted up], and go to the place the Lord will choose. ²⁷ Present your burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices should be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. ²⁸ Be careful to ·obey [^Llisten to] all the rules I am ·giving [commanding] you so that things will always go well for you and your children, and you will be doing what the Lord your God says is good and ·right [virtuous in his eyes].

²⁹ You will enter the land and ·take it away from [dispossess] the nations that the Lord your God will ·destroy [^Lcut them off] ahead of you. When you ·force them out [dispossess] and live in their land, ³⁰ they will be destroyed for you, but be careful not to be ·trapped [snared] by asking about their gods. Don’t say, “How do these nations ·worship [^Lserve]? I will do the same.” ³¹ Don’t ·worship [act toward] the Lord your God that way, because the Lord hates the ·evil [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] ways they ·worship [act toward] their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods!

³² Be sure to do everything I have commanded you. Do not add anything to it, and do not take anything away from it.

False Prophets

13 Prophets or ·those who tell the future with dreams [^Ldreamers of dreams] might come to you and ·say they will show [^Lgive] you a sign or a ·miracle [wonder]. ² The sign or ·miracle [wonder] might even happen, and then they might say, “Let’s serve other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let’s ·worship [^Lgo after] them.” ³ But you must not listen to those prophets or dreamers. The Lord your God is testing you, to ·find out [know] if you love him with ·your whole being [^Lall your heart/mind and all your soul]. ⁴ Serve only the Lord your God. ·Respect [Fear] him, keep his commands, and ·obey him [^Llisten to his voice]. Serve him and ·be loyal [cling] to him. ⁵ The prophets or dreamers must be killed, because they said you should turn against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and ·saved [ransomed; redeemed] you from the ·land where you were slaves [^Lhouse of bondage]. They tried to turn you from ·doing what [^Lthe way] the Lord your God commanded you to ·do [go]. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you.

⁶ Someone might try to ·lead you to serve other gods [^Lsecretly entice you]—it might be your brother, your son or daughter, the wife you ·love [embrace], or a ·close [intimate] friend. The person might say, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” (These are gods that neither you nor your ·ancestors [fathers] have known, ⁷ gods of the people who live around you, either nearby or far away, from one end of the ·land [or earth] to the other.) ⁸ Do not ·give in to [agree with; consent to] such people. Do not listen or ·feel sorry for [^Llet your eyes look compassionately on] them, and do not ·let them go free [pity them] or ·protect [shield] them. ⁹ You must ·put them to death [kill them]. ·You must be the first one to start [^LYour own hand will be the first on them] to kill them, and then ·everyone else must join in [^Lthe hand of all the people]. ¹⁰ You must ·throw stones at them until they die [stone them to death], because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ·where you were slaves [^Lthe house of bondage]. ¹¹ Then everyone in Israel will hear about this and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.

Cities to Destroy

¹² The Lord your God is giving you cities in which to live, and you might hear something about one of them. Someone might say ¹³ that ·evil people [worthless people; scoundrels] have moved in among you. And they might lead the people of that city away from God, saying, “Let’s go and ·worship [^Lserve] other gods.” (These are gods you have not known.) ¹⁴ Then you must ask about it, ·looking into [investigating] the matter and checking carefully whether it is true. If it is proved that a ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] thing has happened among you, ¹⁵ you must ·kill [^Lstrike] with a sword everyone who lives in that city. ·Destroy the city completely and kill everyone in it [Devote that city to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], as well as the animals, with a sword. ¹⁶ Gather up ·everything those people owned [^Lall its plunder], and put it in the middle of the city square. Then completely burn the city and ·everything they owned [^Lall its plunder] as a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord your God. That city should never be rebuilt; let it be ·ruined [a ruin heap] forever. ¹⁷ Don’t ·keep for yourselves [^Lgrasp in your hand] any of the ·things found in that city [^Ldevoted things; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17], so the Lord will not be angry anymore. He will give you ·mercy and feel sorry for you, and he [^L…mercy/compassion, and his mercy/compassion] will make your nation grow larger, as he ·promised [swore] to your ·ancestors [fathers]. ¹⁸ You will have ·obeyed [^Llistened to the voice of] the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am ·giving [commanding] to you today, and you will be doing what ·the Lord says is right [^Lis right/virtuous in the eyes of the Lord].