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1"If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or 2the wife you embrace or your friend 3who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,'4which neither you nor your fathers have known,
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some 5of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other,
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you shall 6not yield to him or listen to him, nor 7shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him.
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But you shall kill him. 8Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
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9You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
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And 10all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.
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"If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to dwell there,
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that certain 11worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known,
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then you shall inquire and make search and ask 12diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you,
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you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword.
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You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and 13burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall be a 14heap forever. It shall not be built again.
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15None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, 16that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, 17as he swore to your fathers,
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if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, 18keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.