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].