2. “You might hear about an evil thing that happens in one of the cities that the Lord your God is giving you. You might hear that a man or woman in your group has sinned against the Lord your God. You might hear that they have broken his agreement or
3. that they have worshiped other gods or maybe the sun, the moon or the stars. I never told you to do that!
4. If you hear bad news like this, you must check it carefully. You must learn if it is true that this terrible thing has really happened in Israel. If you prove that it is true,
5. you must punish the person who did this evil thing. You must take that man or woman out to a public place near the city gates and kill them with stones.
6. But no one should be punished with death if only one witness says that person did that evil thing. But if two or three witnesses say it is true, the person must be killed.
7. The witnesses must throw the first stones to kill that person. Then the other people should throw stones to finish killing that person. In this way you will remove this evil from your group.
8. “There might be some problems that are too hard for your courts to judge. It might be a murder case or an argument between two people. Or it might be a fight in which someone was hurt. When these cases are argued in your towns, your judges there might not be able to decide what is right. Then you must go to the special place that the Lord your God will choose.