Deuteronomy 17:2-7

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ¹  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ²  and breaks his covenant 17:3 by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, ³  moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. ⁴  17:4 When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing ⁵  is being done in Israel, 17:5 you must bring to your city gates ⁶  that man or woman who has done this wicked thing – that very man or woman – and you must stone that person to death. ⁷  17:6 At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 17:7 The witnesses ⁸  must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people ⁹  are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

Matthew 10:37

10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Luke 14:26

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ¹⁰  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ¹¹  he cannot be my disciple.

¹ tn Heb “gates.”

² tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

³ tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.

⁴ tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁵ tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.

⁶ tn Heb “gates.”

⁷ tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”

⁸ tn Heb “the hand of the witnesses.” This means the two or three witnesses are to throw the first stones (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

⁹ tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”

¹⁰ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

¹¹ tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.