Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7
Christian Standard Bible
Forbidden Worship
21 “Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the Lord your God, 22 and do not set up a sacred pillar; the Lord your God hates them.(A)
17 “Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.(B)
The Judicial Procedure for Idolatry
2 “If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating his covenant(C) 3 and has gone to serve other gods(D) by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky(E)—which I have forbidden(F)— 4 and if you are told or hear about it, then investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done in Israel, 5 you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.(G) 6 The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses.(H) No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness. 7 The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people.(I) You must purge the evil from you.(J)
Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7
New American Standard Bible
21 “(A)You shall not plant for yourself an [a]Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 And (B)you shall not set up for yourself a memorial stone, which the Lord your God hates.
Administration of Justice
17 “(C)You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any [b]defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.
2 “(D)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [c]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, 3 and that person has gone and (E)served other gods and worshiped them, (F)or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly [d]lights, (G)which I have commanded not to do, 4 and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And [e]if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and (H)you shall stone them to [f]death. 6 (I)On the [g]testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the [h]condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [i]testimony of only one witness. 7 (J)The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. (K)So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:21 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit bad thing
- Deuteronomy 17:2 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 17:3 Lit host
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Lit behold, true
- Deuteronomy 17:5 Lit death with stones
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit one dying
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
