Abominable Practices

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, (A)you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone (B)who burns his son or his daughter as an offering,[a] anyone who (C)practices divination or (D)tells fortunes or interprets omens, or (E)a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or (F)a medium or a necromancer or (G)one who inquires of the dead, 12 (H)for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And (I)because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 18:10 Hebrew makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire

Communicating with God

Once you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don’t try to imitate the detestable things those nations do. 10 There must not be anyone among you who passes his son or daughter through fire; who practices divination, is a sign reader, fortune-teller, sorcerer, 11 or spell caster; who converses with ghosts or spirits or communicates with the dead. 12 All who do these things are detestable to the Lord! It is on account of these detestable practices that the Lord your God is driving these nations[a] out before you.

13 Instead, you must be perfect before the Lord your God. 14 These nations you are displacing listened to sign readers and diviners, but the Lord your God doesn’t permit you to do the same!

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 18:12 Or them