Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Forbidden Forms of Worship
21 “You shall not plant any tree as a sacred pole[a] beside the altar that you make for the Lord your God,(A) 22 nor shall you set up a stone pillar—things that the Lord your God hates.
17 “You must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has a defect, anything seriously wrong, for that is abhorrent to the Lord your God.(B)
2 “If there is found among you, in one 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 and transgresses his covenant(C) 3 by going to serve other gods and worshiping them—whether the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden— 4 and if it is reported to you or you hear of it, and you make a thorough inquiry, and the charge is proved true that such an abhorrent thing has occurred in Israel,(D) 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or that woman who has committed this crime, and you shall stone the man or woman to death. 6 On the evidence of two or three witnesses the death sentence shall be executed; a person must not be put to death on the evidence of only one witness.(E) 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first raised against the person to execute the death penalty and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.(F)
Footnotes
- 16.21 Or Asherah
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)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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