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Deuteronomy 17:1–6

Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defecte or flaw in it, for that would be detestablef to him.g

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,h and contrary to my commandi has worshiped other gods,j bowing down to them or to the sunk or the moon or the stars in the sky,l and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is truem and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,n take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.o 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.p

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Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.

“If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

“Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the Lord your God, for he detests such gifts.

“When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violate the covenant. For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden. When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.

“If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

If an ox or sheep has something wrong with it, do not offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. He would hate that.

A man or woman in one of the towns the Lord gave you might be found doing something evil and breaking the Agreement. That person may have served other gods and bowed down to them or to the sun or moon or stars of the sky, which I have commanded should not be done. If someone has told you about it, you must look into the matter carefully. If it is true that such a hateful thing has happened in Israel, take the man or woman who has done the evil thing to the city gates and throw stones at that person until he dies. There must be two or three witnesses that it is true before the person is put to death; if there is only one witness, the person should not be put to death.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a blemish, or anything evil; for that is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.

If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, in transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it; then shalt thou inquire diligently; and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel, then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them to death with stones. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Thou shalt not sacrifice to Jehovah thy God an ox or sheep wherein is a defect, or anything bad; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thy God. If there be found in thy midst in any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth what is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, in transgressing his covenant, and goeth and serveth other gods, and boweth down to them, either to the sun or to the moon, or to the whole host of heaven, which I have not commanded; and it be told thee, and thou hearest of it; then thou shalt make thorough inquiry, and if it be truth and the thing be certain, that this abomination hath been wrought in Israel, thou shalt bring forth that man or that woman, who committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, the man or the woman, and shalt stone them with stones, that they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death: he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Never offer an ox or a sheep that has a defect or anything seriously wrong with it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. That would be disgusting to him. 

In one of the cities the Lord your God is giving you, there may be a man or woman among you who is doing what the Lord considers evil. This person may be disregarding the conditions of the Lord’s promiseby worshiping and bowing down to other gods, the sun, the moon, or the whole army of heaven. I have forbidden this. When you are told about it, investigate it thoroughly. If it’s true and it can be proven that this disgusting thing has been done in Israel, then bring the man or woman who did this evil thing to the gates of your city, and stone that person to death. The person can only be sentenced to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses, but no one should ever be sentenced to death on the testimony of only one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

“You must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.

“If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating His covenant and has gone to worship other gods by bowing down to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky —which I have forbidden— and if you are told or hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable thing has happened in Israel, you must bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death. The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

You must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has a defect, anything seriously wrong; for that is abhorrent to the Lord your God.

If there is found among you, in one of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and transgresses his covenant by going to serve other gods and worshiping them—whether the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden— and if it is reported to you or you hear of it, and you make a thorough inquiry, and the charge is proved true that such an abhorrent thing has occurred in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or that woman who has committed this crime and you shall stone the man or woman to death. On the evidence of two or three witnesses the death sentence shall be executed; a person must not be put to death on the evidence of only one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

“You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep that has a physical defect of anything seriously wrong, for that is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. If there is found in one of your towns that Yahweh your God is giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant and by going and serving other gods and so he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of heaven which I have forbidden, and it is reported to you or you hear about it and you enquire about it thoroughly and, indeed, the trustworthiness of the deed has been established, it has occurred, this detestable thing, in Israel, then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones to death. On the evidence of two or three witnesses the person shall be put to death. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Suppose an ox or sheep has anything at all wrong with it. Then don’t sacrifice it to the Lord your God. He hates it.

Someone who is living among you might do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God. It might happen in one of the towns the Lord is giving you. That person is breaking the Lord’s covenant. The person might have worshiped or bowed down to other gods. That person might have bowed down to the sun or moon or stars in the sky. I have commanded you not to do those things. When you hear that people have done something like that, check the matter out carefully. If it’s true, an evil thing has been done in Israel. It’s something the Lord hates.

So take the person who has done that evil thing to your city gate. Put that person to death with stones. The witness of two or three people is required to put someone to death. No one can be put to death because of what only one witness says. It needs the witness of two or three people.

Deuteronomy 17:1–6 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.

If there is found in your midst, in any of your 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 transgressing His covenant,

and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded,

and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,

then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death.

“On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.


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