(A)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [a]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, and that person has gone and (B)served other gods and worshiped them, (C)or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly [b]lights, (D)which I have commanded not to do, and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And [c]if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and (E)you shall stone them to [d]death. (F)On the [e]testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the [f]condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [g]testimony of only one witness. (G)The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. (H)So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:2 Lit gates
  2. Deuteronomy 17:3 Lit host
  3. Deuteronomy 17:4 Lit behold, true
  4. Deuteronomy 17:5 Lit death with stones
  5. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
  6. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit one dying
  7. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth

If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,(A) and contrary to my command(B) has worshiped other gods,(C) bowing down to them or to the sun(D) or the moon or the stars in the sky,(E) and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true(F) and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,(G) take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.(H) On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(I) The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death,(J) and then the hands of all the people.(K) You must purge the evil(L) from among you.

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18 (A)so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you (B)a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood.

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18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns(A) away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.(B)

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