Don't Worship Other Gods
Moses said to Israel:
1-2 Someday a prophet may come along who is able to perform miracles or tell what will happen in the future. Then the prophet may say, “Let's start worshiping some new gods—some gods that we know nothing about.” 3 If the prophet says this, don't listen! The Lord your God will be watching to find out whether or not you love him with all your heart and soul. 4 You must be completely faithful to the Lord. Worship and obey only the Lord and do this with fear and trembling, 5 because he rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
If a prophet tells you to disobey the Lord your God and to stop worshiping him, then that prophet is evil and must be put to death.
6-10 Someone else may say to you, “Let's worship other gods.” That person may be your best friend, your brother or sister, your son or daughter, or your own dear wife or husband. But you must not listen to people who say such things. Instead, you must stone them to death. You must be the first to throw the stones, then others from the community will finish the job. Don't show any pity.
The gods worshiped by other nations have never done anything for you or your ancestors. People who ask you to worship other gods are trying to get you to stop worshiping the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. So put to death anyone who asks you to worship another god. 11 And when the rest of Israel hears about it, they will be afraid, and no one else will ever do such an evil thing again.
12 After the Lord your God gives you towns to live in, you may hear a rumor about one of the towns. 13 You may hear that some worthless people have talked everyone there into worshiping other gods, even though these gods had never done anything for them. 14 You must carefully find out if the rumor is true. Then if the people of that town have actually done such a disgusting thing in your own country, 15 you must take your swords and kill every one of them, and their livestock too. 16-17 Gather all the possessions of the people who lived there, and pile them up in the marketplace, without keeping anything for yourself. Set the pile and the whole town on fire, and don't ever rebuild the town. The whole town will be a sacrifice to the Lord your God. Then he won't be angry anymore, and he will have mercy on you and make your nation stronger, just as he promised your ancestors. 18 That's why you must do what the Lord your God says is right. I am giving you his laws and teachings today, and you must obey them.
1 If there arise amog you a prophet or a dreamer of dreames, (and giue thee a signe or wonder, 2 And the signe and the wonder, which hee hath tolde thee, come to passe) saying, Let vs go after other gods, which thou hast not knowen, and let vs serue them, 3 Thou shalt not hearken vnto the wordes of the prophet, or vnto that dreamer of dreames: for the Lord your God prooueth you, to knowe whether ye loue the Lord your God with al your heart, and with all your soule. 4 Yee shall walke after the Lord your God and feare him, and shall keepe his commandements, and hearken vnto his voyce, and yee shall serue him, and cleaue vnto him. 5 But that prophet, or that dreamer of dreames, he shall be slaine, because hee hath spoken to turne you away from the Lord your God (which brought you out of the lande of Egypt, and deliuered you out of the house of bodage) to thrust thee out of the way, wherein the Lord thy God commanded thee to walke: so shalt thou take the euill away foorth of the middes of thee. 6 If thy brother, the sonne of thy mother, or thine owne sonne, or thy daughter, or the wife, that lyeth in thy bosome, or thy friend, which is as thine owne soule, intice thee secretly, saying, Let vs goe and serue other gods, (which thou hast not knowen, thou, I say, nor thy fathers) 7 Any of the gods of the people which are round about you, neere vnto thee or farre off from thee, from the one ende of the earth vnto ye other: 8 Thou shalt not cosent vnto him, nor heare him, neither shall thine eye pitie him, nor shewe mercie, nor keepe him secret: 9 But thou shalt euen kill him: thine hand shall be first vpon him to put him to death, and then the handes of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he dye (because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of ye land of Egypt, from ye house of bondage) 11 That all Israel may heare and feare, and doe no more any such wickednesse as this among you. 12 If thou shalt heare say (concerning any of thy cities which the Lord thy God hath giuen thee to dwell in) 13 Wicked men are gone out from among you, and haue drawen away the inhabitants of their citie, saying, Let vs go and serue other gods, which ye haue not knowen, 14 Then thou shalt seeke, and make searche and enquire diligently: and if it be true, and the thing certaine, that such abomination is wrought among you, 15 Thou shalt euen slay the inhabitants of that citie with the edge of the sworde: destroy it vtterly, and all that is therein, and the cattel thereof with the edge of the sworde. 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoyle of it into the middes of the streete thereof, and burne with fire the citie and all the spoyle thereof euery whit, vnto the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heape for euer: it shall not be built againe. 17 And there shall cleaue nothing of ye damned thing to thine hand, that the Lord may turne from the fiercenes of his wrath, and shewe thee mercie, and haue compassion on thee and multiplie thee, as he hath sworne vnto thy fathers: 18 When thou shalt obey the voyce of the Lord thy God, and keepe all his commandements which I command thee this day, that thou do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.