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13 Suppose a prophet appears among you. Or someone comes who uses dreams to tell what’s going to happen. He tells you that a miraculous sign or wonder is going to take place. 2The sign or wonder he has spoken about might really take place. And he might say, “Let’s follow other gods. Let’s worship them.” But you haven’t known anything about those gods before. 3So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said.
The Lord your God is putting you to the test. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4You must follow him. You must have respect for him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him.
5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death. He told you not to obey the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. He set you free from the land where you were slaves. He commanded you to live the way he wants you to. But that prophet or dreamer has tried to make you turn away from it. Get rid of that evil person.
6Suppose your very own brother or sister secretly tempts you to do something wrong. Or your child or the wife you love tempts you. Or your closest friend does it. Suppose one of them says, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” But you and your people long ago hadn’t known anything about those gods before. 7They are the gods of the nations that are around you. Those nations might be near or far away. In fact, they might reach from one end of the land to the other. 8Don’t give in to those who are tempting you. Don’t listen to them. Don’t feel sorry for them. Don’t spare them or save them.
9You must certainly put them to death. You must be the first to throw stones at them. Then all of the people must do the same thing. 10Put them to death by throwing stones at them. They tried to turn you away from the Lord your God. He brought you out of Egypt. That’s the land where you were slaves.
11After you kill those who tempted you, all of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be too scared to do an evil thing like that again.
12The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But suppose you hear something bad about one of those towns. 13You hear that evil men have appeared among you. They’ve tried to get the people of their town to do something wrong. They’ve said, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” But you haven’t known anything about those gods before. 14So you must question people. You must check the matter out carefully.
If it’s true, an evil thing has really happened among you. It’s something the Lord hates. 15Then you must certainly kill with your swords everyone who lives in that town. Destroy it completely. Wipe out its people and livestock. 16Gather all of the goods of that town into the middle of the main street. Burn the town completely. Burn up everything in it.
It’s a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. The town must remain a pile of stones forever. It must never be built again.
17Don’t keep anything that should be destroyed. Then the Lord will turn away from his burning anger. He will show you mercy. He’ll have deep concern for you. He’ll increase your numbers. That’s what he promised your people long ago. He took an oath when he made the promise.
18The Lord your God will do those things if you obey him. I’m giving you his commands today. And you must obey all of them. You must do what is right in his eyes.
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About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
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Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Reader’s Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIrV text. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.S. and Canada that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.K., EEC, and EFTA countries that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Hodder Headline Plc., 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, England. Permission requests for non-commercial usage that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. |
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