Deuteronomy 13

1 If there arise amog you a prophet or a dreamer of dreames, (and giue thee a signe or wonder,

If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

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,

and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship 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.

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

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.

You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to 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.

Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.

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)

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

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:

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

8 Thou shalt not cosent vnto him, nor heare him, neither shall thine eye pitie him, nor shewe mercie, nor keepe him secret:

you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.

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.

Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands 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)

Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

11 That all Israel may heare and feare, and doe no more any such wickednesse as this among you.

Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

12 If thou shalt heare say (concerning any of thy cities which the Lord thy God hath giuen thee to dwell in)

If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said

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,

that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

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,

then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed 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.

you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.

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.

And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt.

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:

Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your 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.

because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.