The Man Who Cursed God

¹⁰ Now there was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father who was walking among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman began cursing and speaking against the Lord, so the people took him to Moses. (The mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri from the family of Dan.) ¹² The people held him as a prisoner while they waited for the Lord’s command to be made clear to them.

¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁴ “Take the one who spoke against me outside the camp. Then all the people who heard him must put their hands on his head, and all the people must throw stones at him and kill him. ¹⁵ Tell the people of Israel this: ‘If anyone curses his God, he is guilty of sin. ¹⁶ Anyone who speaks against the Lord must be put to death; all the people must kill him by throwing stones at him. Foreigners must be punished just like the people born in Israel; if they speak against the Lord, they must be put to death.

²³ Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they took the person who had cursed outside the camp and killed him by throwing stones at him. So the people of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.