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16 You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza[a] and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin[b] forever—it must never be rebuilt again. 17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment.[c] Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors. 18 Thus you must obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving[d] you today and doing what is right[e] before him.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:16 tn Heb “street.”
  2. Deuteronomy 13:16 tn Heb “mound”; NAB “a heap of ruins.” The Hebrew word תֵּל (tel) refers to this day to a ruin represented especially by a built-up mound of dirt or debris (cf. Tel Aviv, “mound of grain”).
  3. Deuteronomy 13:17 tn Or “anything that has been put under the divine curse”; Heb “anything of the ban” (cf. NASB). See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
  4. Deuteronomy 13:18 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV).
  5. Deuteronomy 13:18 tc The LXX and Smr add “and good” to bring the phrase in line with a familiar cliché (cf. Deut 6:18; Josh 9:25; 2 Kgs 10:3; 2 Chr 14:1; etc.). This is an unnecessary and improper attempt to force a text into a preconceived mold.
  6. Deuteronomy 13:18 tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord your God.” See note on the word “him” in v. 3.

16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town(A) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.(B) That town is to remain a ruin(C) forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things[a] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,(D) will show you mercy,(E) and will have compassion(F) on you. He will increase your numbers,(G) as he promised(H) on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right(I) in his eyes.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.