Punishment of Apostates

1If there arise among you^p a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and give you a sign or a wonder,   MATT 24:24

2And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them;

3You shall not hearken to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your^p God proves you^p, to know whether you^p love the Lord your^p God with all your^p heart and with all your^p soul.   listen; tests

4You^p shall walk after the Lord your^p God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him, and cling to Him.

5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he has spoken to turn you^p away from the Lord your^p God which brought you^p out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you^p out of the house of bondage, to thrust you out of the way which the Lord your God commanded you to walk in. So shall you put the evil away from the midst of you.

6If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend, which is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, you, nor your fathers;

7Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you^p, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth;

8You shall not consent to him, nor hearken to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him:

9But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10And you shall stone him with stones, that he die; because he has sought to thrust you away from the Lord your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.   execute

11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you^p.

12If you shall hear say in one of your cities, which the Lord your God has given you to dwell there, saying,

13Certain men, the children of Belial are gone out from among you^p, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you^p have not known;   wicked, evil

14Then shall you inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you^p;   detestable thing

15You shall 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.   strike

16And you shall gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shall burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord your God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again.   plunder; piece

17And there shall cling nothing of the cursed thing to your hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger, and show you mercy, and have compassion upon you, and multiply you, as He has sworn to your fathers;

18When you shall hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.