< Deuteronomy 13 >
1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and if he gives you a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
and if the sign or the wonder comes about, of which he spoke to you and said, 'Let us go after other gods, that you have not known, and let us worship them,'
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
do not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
You will walk after Yahweh your God, honor him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you will worship him and cling to him.
5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn [you] away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
That prophet or that dreamer of dreams will be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and who redeemed you out of the house of bondage. That prophet wants to draw you out of the way in which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk. So put away the evil from among you.
6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
Suppose that your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is to you like your own soul, secretly entices you and says, 'Let us go and worship other gods that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors—
7 [Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth;
any of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.'
8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
You must not give in to him or listen to him, and you must not permit your eye to pity him, and you must not spare him or conceal him.
9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Instead, you will surely kill him; your hand will be the first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
You will stone him to death with stones, because he has tried to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
All Israel will hear and fear, and will not continue to do this kind of wickedness among you.
12 If thou shalt hear [say] in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
If you hear anyone say about one of your cities, that Yahweh your God gives you to live in:
13 [Certain] men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
Some wicked fellows have gone out from among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city and said, 'Let us go and worship other gods that you have not known.'
14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, [if it be] truth, [and] the thing certain, [that] such abomination is wrought among you;
Then you will examine the evidence, make search, and investigate it thoroughly. When you discover that it is true and certain that such an abominable thing has been done among you, then you will take action.
15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that [is] therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
You will surely attack the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, completely destroy it and all the people who are in it, along with its livestock, with the edge of the sword.
16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
You will gather all the spoil from it into the middle of its street and will burn the city, as well as all its spoil—for Yahweh your God. The city will be a heap of ruins forever; it must never be built again.
17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
None of those things set apart for destruction must stick in your hand. This must be the case, so that Yahweh will turn from the fierceness of his anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and make you increase in numbers, as he has sworn to your fathers.
18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do [that which is] right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
He will do this because you are listening to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all his commandments that I am commanding you today, to do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.