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New King James Version

Worshiping Other Gods

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder,

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Punishment of Apostates

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

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and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,”

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and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’ — which you have not known — ‘and let us serve them,’

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you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

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you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

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It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.

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You shall walk[a] after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

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That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

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But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall [b]put away the evil from your midst.

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If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known,

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“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife [c]of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers,

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gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other),

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of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth,

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do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them.

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you shall not [d]consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;

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You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people.

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but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

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Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

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And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

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Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

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So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

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If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in

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“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, saying,

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that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known),

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[e]‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ’ — which you have not known —

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then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,

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then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an [f]abomination was committed among you,

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you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,a both its people and its livestock.

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you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock — with the edge of the sword.

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You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt,

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And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and [g]completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be a [h]heap forever; it shall not be built again.

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and none of the condemned thingsb are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors —

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So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and [i]multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers,

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because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.

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because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

Parallel

New International Version

New King James Version

Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13