Deuteronomy 13

1Suppose a prophet or someone who has dreams appears among you and announces to you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or wonder he told you about comes true, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’—gods you have not known—‘and let us worship them,’ 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you, to find out whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must fear. Keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, and hold fast to him. 5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. He has tried to turn you aside from the way the LORD your God commanded you to walk in. You must purge the evil from among you. 6If your own brother, your mother’s son, or your son or your daughter, or the wife you embrace, or the friend who is as dear to you as your own life, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7any of the gods of the peoples around you, whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other, 8you must not give in to them or listen to them. Show them no pity, do not spare them, and do not cover up for them, 9but you must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first raised against them to put them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10Stone them to death, because they tried to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will ever again do such an evil thing.

12If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in 13that some worthless men have come out from among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’—gods you have not known— 14then you must look into it, search it out, and ask thorough questions. If it is true and the matter is certain that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15you must put the people who live in that town to the sword. Devote it to destruction, with everything in it and its livestock, putting them to the sword. 16Gather all its plunder into the middle of its public square, and burn the town and all its plunder with fire as a whole offering to the LORD your God. It must remain a ruin mound forever and never be rebuilt. 17None of the devoted things may stick to your hands, so that the LORD may turn from his burning anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and make you many, as he swore to your ancestors, 18if you obey the LORD your God by keeping all his commandments that I am giving you today and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.