1If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 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; 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. 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. 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.13.5 to turn…: Heb. revolt against the LORD
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; 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; 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: 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. 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.13.10 bondage: Heb. bondmen 11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is 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hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 13Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;13.13 the children…: or, naughty men 14Then shalt thou enquire,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; 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. 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. 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;13.17 cursed: or, devoted 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.
1I skal adlyde alle de befalinger, jeg pålægger jer. I må hverken trække noget fra eller lægge noget til. 2Hvis der findes en profet iblandt jer, eller en, der ved hjælp af drømme udtaler sig om fremtiden, 3og hans forudsigelser viser sig at gå i opfyldelse, og hvis han samtidig opfordrer jer til afgudsdyrkelse, 4må I ikke følge hans opfordring, for det er Herren, jeres Gud, der gennem den frafaldne profet sætter jer på prøve for at se, om I virkelig elsker Herren med hele jeres sjæl og sind. 5I må aldrig dyrke andre guder end Herren! Adlyd hans befalinger og hold jer til ham. 6Men den profet, som ville lede jer på afveje, skal henrettes, for han har forsøgt at lokke jer til at gøre oprør imod Herren, jeres Gud, der førte jer ud af slavetilværelsen i Egypten. Ved at henrette en sådan profet fjerner I det onde fra jeres midte.
7-8Det samme gælder, hvis en nær ven eller nogen af jeres nærmeste familie forsøger at friste jer. Selv hvis din ægtefælle, din bror eller søster, din søn eller datter i al fortrolighed opfordrer dig til at dyrke fremmede guder, som hverken du eller dine forfædre har kendt til, 9må du ikke give efter og lytte til dem. Du må ikke engang vise nogen form for forståelse eller på anden måde prøve at undskylde dem. 10-11Henret dem! Kast selv den første sten mod dem, og lad derefter de andre anklagere komme til, for de forsøgte at lokke jer bort fra Herren, jeres Gud, den Gud, der førte jer ud af slaveriet i Egypten. 12Det vil sætte skræk i livet på resten af folket, så de ikke begår den samme synd.
13-15Hvis I hører om, at der i en af Israels byer findes onde mennesker, som har lokket byen til at dyrke fremmede guder, skal I først undersøge, om det er sandt. Hvis det virkelig viser sig, at noget så forkasteligt er sket i en af de byer, Herren har givet jer, 16skal I angribe byen og udrydde dens indbyggere og husdyr. 17Bagefter skal I samle alt byttet midt på torvet og brænde det, ja, I skal sætte ild til hele byen og lade den være et brændoffer for Herren, jeres Gud. Lad ruinerne være, genopbyg aldrig byen igen, 18og lad være med at beholde noget af byttet. Da vil Herrens voldsomme vrede lægge sig, og han vil vise jer nåde og barmhjertighed og fortsat velsigne jer, så I bliver en mægtig nation, sådan som han lovede jeres forfædre.
19Men Herren, jeres Gud, vil kun vise jer barmhjertighed, hvis I holder jer til ham og adlyder de befalinger, jeg pålægger jer i dag, så I gør, hvad der i Herrens øjne er ret.
