Deuteronomy 13

Revised Geneva Translation

13 “If there arises among you a prophet (or a dreamer of dreams) and he gives you a sign or wonder —

² “and the sign or the wonder which he has told you comes to be — saying, ‘Let us go after other gods which you have not known. And let us serve them’,

³ “you shall not listen to the words of the prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God tests you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

⁴ “You shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear Him, and shall keep His Commandments, and obey His Voice. And you shall serve Him and cling to Him.

⁵ “But that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, he shall be killed, because he has spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God (Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and delivered you out of the house of bondage) to thrust you out of the way in which the LORD your God Commanded you to walk. So shall you take the evil away forth from the midst of you.

⁶ “If your brother (the son of your mother) or your own son, or your daughter, or the wife in your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods (which you have not known, you nor your fathers)

⁷ “from the gods of the people who are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from the one end of the Earth to the other,

⁸ “you shall not yield to him or hear him. Nor shall your eye pity him or show mercy or keep him secret.

⁹ “But you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and then the hands of the people.

¹⁰ “And you shall stone him with stones, so that he dies — because he has gone about to thrust you away from the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage —

¹¹ “and so that all Israel may hear and fear and do no more any such wickedness as this among you.

¹² “If you shall hear it said concerning any of your cities which the LORD your God has given you to dwell in,

¹³ ‘Wicked men have gone out from among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known’,

¹⁴ “Then you shall seek and search and inquire diligently. And if true, and the thing certain that such an abomination has been committed among you,

¹⁵ “you shall surely kill the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword — destroy it utterly and all that is in it, and its cattle — with the edge of the sword.

¹⁶ “And you shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its streets and burn the city and all its spoil with fire — every bit —to the LORD your God. And it shall be rubble forever. It shall not be built again.

¹⁷ “And nothing of the damned thing shall cling to your hand, so that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His wrath and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you (as He has sworn to your fathers)

¹⁸ “when you shall obey the Voice of the LORD your God and keep all His Commandments which I command you this day, that you do that which is right in the Eyes of the LORD your God.”