³ He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly.

¹² Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”^{(A) 13} His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.”^(B)

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge;^(A)

⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹ The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; ¹⁰ he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother.

³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me,^(A)

¹⁵ Did God^[a] not make them one, flesh with spirit in it? And what does the one desire? Godly offspring. So look to yourselves, and do not let anyone be faithless to the wife of his youth.^[b](A)

Mixed Marriages Condemned

²³ In those days also I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab,^{(A) 24} and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah but spoke the language of various peoples. ²⁵ And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of the men and pulled out their hair, and I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.^{(B) 26} Did not King Solomon of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.^{(C) 27} Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”^(D)

⁴ So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal, and it was in the house of Micah. ⁵ This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.^(A)

⁶ “If anyone secretly entices you—even if it is your brother, your father’s son or^[a] your mother’s son, or your own son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your most intimate friend—saying, ‘Let us go serve other gods,’ whom neither you nor your ancestors have known,^{(A) 7} any of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far away from you, from one end of the earth to the other, ⁸ you must not yield to or heed any such persons. Show them no pity or compassion, and do not shield them. ⁹ But you shall surely kill them; your own hand shall be first against them to execute them and afterward the hand of all the people.^{(B) 10} Stone them 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.

³ Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,^{(A) 4} for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.^(B)