Anyone who accidentally killed someone<n id="1" /> without hating him at the time of the accident<n id="2" /> could flee to one of those cities and be safe.

You must not worship or serve them, for I, the <sc>Lordsc> your God, am a jealous God. I punish<n id="1" /> the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject<n id="2" /> me,<n id="3" />

but the seventh day is the Sabbath<n id="1" /> of the <sc>Lordsc> your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you,<n id="2" /> so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then when the <sc>Lordsc> your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you &#8211; a land with large, fine cities you did not build,

<t /><p class="bodytext">You must destroy<n id="1" /> all the people whom the <sc>Lordsc> your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship<n id="2" /> their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent<n id="1" /> to the <sc>Lordsc> your God.

Remember the whole way by which he<n id="1" /> has brought you these forty years through the desert<n id="2" /> so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness,<n id="1" /> that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the <sc>Lordsc> your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he<n id="2" /> made on oath to your ancestors,<n id="3" /> to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, forty days and nights. The <sc>Lordsc> listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you.

For the <sc>Lordsc> your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,

For the land where you are headed<n id="1" /> is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, a land where you planted seed and which you irrigated by hand<n id="2" /> like a vegetable garden.

Then the anger of the <sc>Lordsc> will erupt<n id="1" /> against you and he will close up the sky<n id="2" /> so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed<n id="3" /> from the good land that the Lord<n id="4" /> is about to give you.

Nobody will be able to resist you; the <sc>Lordsc> your God will spread the fear and terror of you over the whole land on which you walk, just as he promised you.p>

You must not worship the <sc>Lordsc> your God the way they do!<n id="1" /> For everything that is abhorrent<n id="2" /> to him,<n id="3" /> everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!p>

You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer,<n id="1" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> your God will be testing you to see if you love him<n id="2" /> with all your mind and being.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Suppose your own full brother,<n id="1" /> your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods<n id="2" /> that neither you nor your ancestors<n id="3" /> have previously known,<n id="4" />

You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza<n id="1" /> and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the <sc>Lordsc> your God. It will be an abandoned ruin<n id="2" /> forever &#8211; it must never be rebuilt again.

When he<n id="1" /> blesses you, if the<n id="2" /> place where he chooses to locate his name is distant,

This is the nature of the cancellation: Every creditor must remit what he has loaned to another person;<n id="1" /> he must not force payment from his fellow Israelite,<n id="2" /> for it is to be recognized as &#8220;the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s cancellation of debts.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">If a fellow Israelite<n id="1" /> from one of your villages<n id="2" /> in the land that the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive<n id="3" /> to his impoverished condition.<n id="4" />