“A Warning against Idolatry “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, 2 and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— 3 do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. 4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. 5 The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the Lord your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the Lord your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.
6 “Suppose someone secretly entices you—even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend—and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. 7 They might suggest that you worship the gods of peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth. 8 But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them. 9 You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in. 10 Stone the guilty ones to death because they have tried to draw you away from the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear about it and be afraid, and no one will act so wickedly again.
12 “When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, you may hear 13 that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods you have not known before. 14 In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find that the report is true and such a detestable act has been committed among you, 15 you must attack that town and completely destroy[b] all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. 16 Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the open square and burn it. Burn the entire town as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt. 17 Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a large nation, just as he swore to your ancestors.
18 “The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him.”
Deuteronomy 14
“Ceremonially Clean and Unclean Animals “Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. 2 You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.
3 “You must not eat any detestable animals that are ceremonially unclean. 4 These are the animals[a] you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the addax, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
6 “You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cud, 7 but if the animal doesn’t have both, it may not be eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the hyrax.[b] They chew the cud but do not have split hooves, so they are ceremonially unclean for you. 8 And you may not eat the pig. It has split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses.
9 “Of all the marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales. 10 You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you.
11 “You may eat any bird that is ceremonially clean. 12 These are the birds you may not eat: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 13 the kite, the falcon, buzzards of all kinds, 14 ravens of all kinds, 15 the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the seagull, hawks of all kinds, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the barn owl, 17 the desert owl, the Egyptian vulture, the cormorant, 18 the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
19 “All winged insects that walk along the ground are ceremonially unclean for you and may not be eaten. 20 But you may eat any winged bird or insect that is ceremonially clean.
21 “You must not eat anything that has died a natural death. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town, or you may sell it to a stranger. But do not eat it yourselves, for you are set apart as holy to the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
The Giving of Tithes 22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. 23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.
24 “Now when the Lord your God blesses you with a good harvest, the place of worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too far for you to bring the tithe. 25 If so, you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds, put the money in a pouch, and go to the place the Lord your God has chosen. 26 When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind of food you want—cattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and celebrate with your household. 27 And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.
28 “At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town. 29 Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work.”
ENCOURAGEMENT
Psalm 83
“A song. A psalm of Asaph. O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. 2 Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? 3 They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones. 4 “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” 5 Yes, this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you— 6 these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and Hagrites; 7 Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from Philistia and Tyre. 8 Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Interlude
9 Do to them as you did to the Midianites and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. 10 They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. 11 Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 for they said, “Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!” 13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! 14 As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, 15 chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest. 16 Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. 17 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace. 18 Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.”
