Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed Baal’s altars and his statues and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. Next, the priest appointed officials to be in charge of the Lord’s temple.
He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Each of you put on your sword. Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, and kill your relatives, friends, and neighbors.”
“Tell the Israelites: If Israelites or foreigners living among you give one of their children as a sacrifice to ⌞the god⌟ Molech, they must be put to death. The common people must stone them to death.
Moses spoke to the people of Israel. So the man who had cursed the Lord’s name was taken outside the camp. There they stoned him to death as the Lord commanded Moses. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.
That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery. He was trying to lead you away from following the directions the Lord your God gave you. You must get rid of this evil.
Don’t let yourselves be tempted to worship and serve what you see in the sky—the sun, the moon, the stars, or anything else. The Lord your God has given them to all people everywhere.
Then Joshua said, “Why did you bring this disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” And all Israel stoned Achan and his family to death. Then they burned the bodies and piled stones over them.