¹⁶ Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.^(A)

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.^(A)

Warning to Pay Attention

2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.^(A)

¹⁸ Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns^(A) away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.^(B)

²¹ Dear children,^(A) keep yourselves from idols.^(B)

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues^(A) deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life,^(A) and that day will close on you suddenly^(B) like a trap.

¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,