The Wilderness Years

you are not to consent, and you are not to listen to him; and you must not pity him or spare him; and you may not conceal him.

Rather, you must kill him! Your own hand must be the first one on him in putting him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people.

You are to stone him to death; because he has tried to draw you away from ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a life of slavery.

Then all Isra'el will hear about it and be afraid, so that they will stop doing such wickedness as this among themselves.

"If you hear it told that in one of your cities which ADONAI your God is giving you to live in,

certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city by saying, 'Let's go and serve other gods, which you haven't known,'

then you are to investigate the matter, inquiring and searching diligently. If the rumor is true, if it is confirmed that such detestable things are being done among you,

you must put the inhabitants of that city to death with the sword, destroying it completely with the sword, everything in it, including its livestock.

Heap all its spoils in an open space, and burn the city with its spoils to the ground for ADONAI your God; it will remain a tel forever and not be built again -

none of what has been set apart for destruction is to stay in your hands. Then ADONAI will turn from his fierce anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and increase your numbers, as he swore to your ancestors -

provided you listen to what ADONAI says and obey all his mitzvot that I am giving you today, thus doing what ADONAI your God sees as right.

"You are the people of ADONAI your God. You are not to gash yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead,

because you are a people set apart as holy for ADONAI your God. ADONAI your God has chosen you to be his own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

"You are not to eat anything disgusting.

The animals which you may eat are: ox, sheep, goat,

deer, gazelle, roebuck, ibex, antelope, oryx and mountain sheep.

Any animal that has a separate hoof that is completely divided and also chews the cud, these animals you may eat.

But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof. For example, the camel, the hare and the coney are unclean for you because they chew the cud but don't have a separate hoof;

while the pig is unclean for you because, although it has a separate hoof, it doesn't chew the cud. You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses.

"Of all that lives in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, these you may eat.

But whatever lacks fins and scales you are not to eat; it is unclean for you.

"You may eat any clean bird;

but these you are not to eat: eagles, vultures, ospreys,

kites, any kind of buzzard,

any kind of raven,