¹² Or if you hear about one of your towns the Lord your God is giving you to inhabit, that ¹³ certain wicked people have gone out from your community and they’ve led the citizens of their town astray by saying: “Come on! We should follow and worship other gods”—ones you haven’t experienced before; ¹⁴ at that point you must look into this situation very carefully to see if it’s true. And if it’s definitely true that this detestable thing was done in your community, ¹⁵ you must completely strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Place it and all that is in it under the ban.^[a] Put its animals to the sword. ¹⁶ Gather all the plunder into the middle of the town’s square. Then burn the city and all of its plunder as an entirely burned offering to the Lord your God. It must remain a heap of rubble forever. It must not be rebuilt. ¹⁷ Don’t hold on to any of the banned items—this will ensure that the Lord turns from his great anger and is compassionate to you, showing you mercy and multiplying you just like he swore to your ancestors. ¹⁸ You must definitely obey the Lord your God’s voice, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you right now, by doing what is right in the Lord your God’s eyes!