| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, | 1 “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, |
| 2And 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; | 2and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— |
| 3Thou 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. | 3do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. |
| 4Ye 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. | 4Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. |
| 5And 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. | 5The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the LORD your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you. |
| 6If 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; | 6“Suppose someone secretly entices you—even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend—and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. |
| 7Namely, 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; | 7They might suggest that you worship the gods of peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth. |
| 8Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: | 8But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them. |
| 9But 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. | 9You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in. |
| 10And 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. | 10Stone the guilty ones to death because they have tried to draw you away from the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery. |
| 11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you. | 11Then all Israel will hear about it and be afraid, and no one will act so wickedly again. |
| 12If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, | 12“When you begin living in the towns the LORD your God is giving you, you may hear |
| 13Certain 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; | 13that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods you have not known before. |
| 14Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; | 14In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find that the report is true and such a detestable act has been committed among you, |
| 15Thou 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. | 15you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. |
| 16And 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. | 16Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the open square and burn it. Burn the entire town as a burnt offering to the LORD your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt. |
| 17And 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; | 17Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a large nation, just as he swore to your ancestors. |
| 18When 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. | 18“The LORD your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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