1 Suppose a prophet appears among you. Or someone comes who uses dreams to tell what's going to happen. He tells you that a miraculous sign or wonder is going to take place.
2 The sign or wonder he has spoken about might really take place. And he might say, "Let's follow other gods. Let's worship them." But you haven't known anything about those gods before.
3 So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said. The Lord your God is putting you to the test. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 You must follow him. You must have respect for him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him.
5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death. He told you not to obey the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. He set you free from the land where you were slaves. He commanded you to live the way he wants you to. But that prophet or dreamer has tried to make you turn away from it. Get rid of that evil person.
6 Suppose your very own brother or sister secretly tempts you to do something wrong. Or your child or the wife you love tempts you. Or your closest friend does it. Suppose one of them says, "Let's go and worship other gods." But you and your people long ago hadn't known anything about those gods before.
7 They are the gods of the nations that are around you. Those nations might be near or far away. In fact, they might reach from one end of the land to the other.
8 Don't give in to those who are tempting you. Don't listen to them. Don't feel sorry for them. Don't spare them or save them.
9 You must certainly put them to death. You must be the first to throw stones at them. Then all of the people must do the same thing.
10 Put them to death by throwing stones at them. They tried to turn you away from the Lord your God. He brought you out of Egypt. That's the land where you were slaves.
11 After you kill those who tempted you, all of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be too scared to do an evil thing like that again.
12 The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But suppose you hear something bad about one of those towns.
13 You hear that evil men have appeared among you. They've tried to get the people of their town to do something wrong. They've said, "Let's go and worship other gods." But you haven't known anything about those gods before.
14 So you must question people. You must check the matter out carefully. If it's true, an evil thing has really happened among you. It's something the Lord hates.
15 Then you must certainly kill with your swords everyone who lives in that town. Destroy it completely. Wipe out its people and livestock.
16 Gather all of the goods of that town into the middle of the main street. Burn the town completely. Burn up everything in it. It's a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. The town must remain a pile of stones forever. It must never be built again.
17 Don't keep anything that should be destroyed. Then the Lord will turn away from his burning anger. He will show you mercy. He'll have deep concern for you. He'll increase your numbers. That's what he promised your people long ago. He took an oath when he made the promise.