1 If an ox or a sheep has something wrong with it, don't offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God—he will be disgusted!
2-3 The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may start worshipping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars. I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is disobeying the Lord and breaking the agreement he made with you.
4 So when you hear that someone in your town is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person really is guilty.
5-7 But you will need two or three witnesses—one witness isn't enough to prove a person guilty.Get rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and let everyone stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw stones.
8-12 It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshipped.This court will be made up of one judge and several priests who serve at the Lord's altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death.
13 When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.