^6 (A)“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or ^(B)the wife you embrace^[a] or your friend ^(C)who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ ^(D)which neither you nor your fathers have known,

⁵⁴ The man who is the most tender and refined among you will ^(A)begrudge food to his brother, to ^(B)the wife he embraces,^[a] and to the last of the children whom he has left,

^2 (A)“If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, ^(B)in transgressing his covenant, ³ and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or ^(C)the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, ^(D)which I have forbidden, ⁴ and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire ^(E)diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, ⁵ then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you ^(F)shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. ^6 (G)On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. ^7 (H)The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So ^(I)you shall purge^[a] the evil^[b] from your midst.

³ and threw him into ^(A)the pit, and shut it and ^(B)sealed it over him, so that ^(C)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁹ And ^(A)the great dragon was thrown down, ^(B)that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, ^(C)the deceiver of the whole world—^(D)he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(A)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(B)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(C)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(D)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

False Prophets and Teachers

2 But ^(A)false prophets also arose among the people, ^(B)just as there will be false teachers among you, who will ^(C)secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master ^(D)who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

⁴ I say this in order ^(A)that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^(A)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(B)deceitful schemes.