Prophet or dreamer may arise, of thy own race, and foretell some signal event

which afterwards comes about; even so he must not persuade thee to follow the worship of alien gods, untried till now.

Do not listen to such words from prophet or dreamer; it means that the Lord thy God is putting thee to the proof, to see whether he has the love of thy whole heart and thy whole soul or not.

Follow and fear the Lord your God, obey no commands, listen to no voice but his; serve him and be true to him.

The punishment of such a prophet or dreamer shall be death; he has counselled rebellion against the Lord God, who delivered your race from its slavery in Egypt; he would tempt thee away from the path the Lord thy God has marked out for thee; rid thy company of such plague as this.

Suffer none to whisper that counsel in thy ears, brother nor son nor daughter, nor the wife thou dost cherish in thy bosom, nor the friend thou lovest as thy own self. Whoever bids thee follow the worship of alien gods, unknown to thee and to thy fathers,

gods of any other nation in the wide world, near or far,

do not consent, do not listen. Have no glance of pity for them, throw no merciful cloak over their guilt;

put them to death without parley. The hand of every Israelite must be lifted against them, but thine first of all.

One who would so tempt thee away from the worship of the Lord thy God, that rescued thee from slavery in Egypt, must die by stoning;

so that all Israel may be apprised of it, and take warning, and none dare to do the like thenceforward.

Or it may be, when the Lord thy God has given all of you cities to dwell in, word will reach thee of such happenings, not in thy own city but in some other.

Somewhere, unworthy sons of Israel are seducing their fellow-citizens, bidding them follow the worship of alien gods untried.

Careful and anxious be thy search, to find out the truth of the matter; and if it proves that the report was true, and the foul deed has been done,

then, without delay, put all the inhabitants of that city to the sword, and destroy it, with all that is in it, even the cattle in its byres.

Make a pile in the streets of all its household store, and burn that with the city itself, as forfeit to the Lord thy God. Let it be a ruin for all time, never to be rebuilt.

It is all forfeit, be sure thou dost not treasure any relic of it. So the anger of the Lord thy God will relent, and he will have mercy on thee, and make a great nation of thee, as he swore to thy fathers;

let him find thee attentive to his voice, observant of all these commands of his, ready to do his will.