20 “Whoever sacrifices to any gods, except the Lord alone, is to be set apart for destruction.(A)

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20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god(A) other than the Lord must be destroyed.[a](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

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Don’t Tolerate Idolatry

“If your brother, the son of your mother,[a] or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’—which neither you nor your fathers have known, any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other— you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity,[b] and do not spare him or shield him. Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 13:6 DSS, Sam, LXX read If the son of your father or the son of your mother
  2. Deuteronomy 13:8 Lit Your eye must not pity him

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices(A) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”(B) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield(C) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.(D) Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death.(E) Your hand(F) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people.

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If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

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The Judicial Procedure for Idolatry

“If(A) 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(B) 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. The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people.(C) You must purge the evil from you.(D)

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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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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 enquired 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.

The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

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