¹² “If you hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that ¹³ some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘^(A)Let’s go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), ¹⁴ then you shall investigate, search out, and inquire thoroughly. And if it is true and the matter is certain that this abomination has been committed among you, ^15 (B)you shall most certainly strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword. ^[a]Utterly destroy it and all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword. ^16 (C)Then you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of its public square, and burn the city and all its plunder with fire as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God; and it shall be a ^[b](D)ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. ¹⁷ Nothing at all from what is designated for destruction is to cling to your hand, in order that the Lord may turn from ^(E)His burning anger and ^(F)show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and ^(G)make you increase, just ^(H)as He has sworn to your fathers, ^18 [c]if you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, ^[d]keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, ^[e]and doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.